Not much speaking in this one - it would have worked as a silent movie. 'Hell in the Pacific' is a slow, thoughtful, WW2 drama about a Japanese officer and an American pilot who are stranded together on a small pacific island.
Time for the obligatory "reviewer talks about himself" bit: I've always had something of a soft spot for all things castaway, and it is one of the few types of plot where I do not necessarily mind a lot of time being taken over not very much happening. I just sort of enjoy watching or reading about people building something of a life and exploring their surroundings, and this has undoubtedly softened my opinion of this film, which in all honesty drags its plot along like an ox does a plow, and often goes in circles like an ox with a plow, who's going in circles. I loved the parts in 'The Lord of the Flies' before the shit hits the fan, my favourite part of 'In the Heart of the Sea' was post-wrecking (at the time of writing I have yet to see the movie, but the novel was brilliant), and I did actually quite enjoy the slower parts of 'The Beach'.
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| Kalima! |
I consider my opinion to be flawed though, because in a way I do sort of understand that a lot of 'Hell in the Pacific' is boring. There are a lot of shots of the two men staring at each other, and a lot of times where the music picks up and becomes distracting (and indeed detracting, thanks autocorrect, though I will write you as one word regardless, as hyphenation is so last century) even as very little is happening on screen.
That isn't to say that it wasn't a very enjoyable film. The sole two characters (who are played by the heavyweights Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin) are both so lifelike and fun to watch, and I found myself really enjoying their exchanges, especially as they began to warm to one another. The acting is a little explosive and overdone at times, but the intensity fits their state of mind well, and I think it says a lot that we basically know what Toshiro is ranting about without any subtitles. I loved the scene where he was tending to his zen garden, only for the American to sneak up and mess it up slightly for his foot. For a moment I thought that the Japanese officer was going to attack him, but he ended up tenderly re-raking the damages area while the American watched him, bemused. This shows their thoughts excellently, as the Japanese officer wants to create some kind of order in his life, and the American pilot wants to keep fighting with the other man in some way, but at the same time is aware that he is providing him with something to do, a fact that the Japanese man is also aware of, and through this the beginnings of a friendship is built.
I'm glad that neither man even attempted to learn the others' language, as this would have broken the wordless spell that the movie builds in its duration. They are either staring at one another in silence or one is shouting at the blank faced other man. They might be telling each other drunken stories simultaneously, or shouting at each other inconclusively.
And then it ends, and the ending isn't very good, sorry. They were happy, and then the war gets in the way and they start shouting at each other. Just as it looks like they're going to start fighting the war really gets in the way as we hear aircraft approaching and then - what? An explosion, filmed from the exterior of the building, so maybe they die or maybe they don't, but it's the end either way. I heard that the original ended with some Japanese soldiers finding them and killing the American, and then the Japanese officer, enraged, kills them in turn. That would have been nicer in a way, as then at least the war wouldn't have won completely, and the last act would have been one of friendship-driven vengeance. It is certainly a bold ending, especially for it's time, but I just felt that it happened far too fast and left me feeling dissatisfied.
Overall a neat anti-war film, if ponderous and at times directionless. Fascinating in conception but disappointing in conclusion.
Hell in the Pacific: 56.1