Hey hey, its been awhile, I actually intended to write this last week, work has been extremely tiring lately so I opted to take a weekend off to relax a little.

This week though, thankfully, less hectic, but still hectic nonetheless. So I decided to write just one post for this week.

And here you go, a little special. I always loved documentary-style films, so I decided to watch Fukushima 50 in a heartbeat. Since it’s about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it’s even better.

This movie ran for 122 minutes.

Story

I cannot really prove the accuracy between this and the real event, but it feels pretty factual. They probably did some dramatization with the emotional drive and suspense otherwise the real event will look rather dreary and mundane.

The suspense really put me glued to my seat, but there is still a flaw.

There is a visual disconnect between the people in the control centre and at the actual disaster sites. Which can look rather contrasting at certain times.

The 2 hours film felt pretty short for some reason, it doesn’t really feel like 2 hours. The story has buildup but the climax felt really lackluster. I was probably expecting more drama on the table, but I guess I was a little disappointed.

The ending was extremely anti-climatic since the whole setup was implying a very grand scheme of things. But I guess it brings a rather meaningful message about camaraderie, bravery and hope.

Overall, despite the disconnect, the movie generally has been great, the actors/actresses did a great job driving the story into new heights, more on that later. The dramatization was necessary to make the movie look more like a movie than an actual documentary.

Casts and Portrayal

The cast here deserves a lot of credit, for carrying the story.

Not gonna lie, Watanabe Ken was another reason why I REALLY REALLY wanted to watch the movie.

Characters	Actors/Actresses
Isaki Toshio (Shift Supervisor)	Sato Koichi
Yoshida Masao (Site Superintendent)	Watanabe Ken
Izaki Haruka (Toshio’s daughter)	Yoshioka Riho
Maeda Takumi	Yoshioka Hidetaka
Asano Mari	Yasuda Narumi
Prime Minister of Japan (loosely based on Kan Naoto, the PM of that time)	Sano Shiro
Hirayama Shigeru	Hirata Mitsuru
Maeda Kana (Takumi’s wife)	Nakamura Yuri
Matsunaga	Izumiya Shigeru
Omori Hisao	Hino Shohei
Nojiri Shoichi	Ogata Naoto

I really loved Watanabe’s films, and this is no exception. This is probably my first actual Japanese film with Watanabe Ken.

What about the rest? Everyone did solid jobs with their roles. They managed to keep the emotions running high when things looks chill. The plot also manages to balance the focus between the workers and family members.

Gotta love the portrayals of the main characters. Watanabe Ken and Sato Koichi did excellent jobs coordinating each other, exhibiting great bonds of friendship.

The casting is seriously flawless.

One thing I want to point out is that the Prime Minister portrayal is slightly questionable. He looks more like a goofy official than an actual minister. I wonder if that reflects on Kan Naoto’s public image during the Tohoku disaster.

Music

I would say this one isn’t exactly this movie’s strong suit. But since this show movie focuses more on realism, I will cut it some slack.

But sometimes the movie felt a little too quiet since there isn’t much drama and action. But the tune before the credits was actually pretty sweet.

Scores:
Story: 8.5/10
Music: 7/10
Cast: 9/10

I really recommend this film. Not for the sake of understand the disaster even better, but to actually experience a small portion of the disaster. And especially if you are a fan of Watanabe Ken like me, watch the film.

So… my 25th (yes, I am an old man) birthday is next week… next Friday to be exact, the 28th. I will probably plan a special post for Sunday. As of right now, I don’t know yet, but we’ll see.

As for future plans, I do plan to write a massive emo post once Rent-A-Girlfriend once that show is done. FSN HF’s finale is coming in September so that will be in the pipelines too.

So, that’s all for me this week, I will see you all next week.