Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Clarissa Mora
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
baristonak
The perspective of this movie can change by different people. For a Japan it is a story of hero, but for an American it is a propaganda movie. I think it is a nice Japan propaganda movie. This movie is showing us even today's Japan Kamikaze pilots and soldiers which fight in WW2 are excluded, because for some young Japans Kamikaze pilots are ultra-nationalist psychopaths and there is no difference between suicide bombers and Kamikaze pilots. But this movie is arguing every Kamikaze pilot is not ultra-nationalist psychopaths, there are some dramatic stories of Kamikaze pilots. Miyabe sacrificed himself, because he became very sad on death of young Kamikaze pilots and he wanted to cover a young soldier, in this way he died as a hero, but no one knows it. So it is a nice movie for showed us this story, because there are some real untold stories like in this movie. Also I liked structure of movie that deeply examine of characters and present different kind of perspective. So I think this movie is a successful movie. But I have some unanswered questions and I found some deficiencies about movie. For example, why soldiers called Miyabe as coward? I think scriptwriter wanted to show he decided to die, because death is an escape hatch, and he could not face with sadness of war and he decided to suicide, so they could called him as a coward. Also Why Miyabe saddened too much about death of kamikaze pilots? I think he knows kamikaze pilots be kamikaze pilots for death. Also movie stayed on only character level, I think it should have more entered into war and also should have showed real face of Imperial Japan. For example why they attacked Pearl Harbour, if I did not know about what happened in pearl harbour and why Japan attacked the US, I could not understand why they are fighting each other. So if they were entered more into war, movie would be better. I was expecting to see more war scenes. Although they dramatic story and atmosphere of movie have covered these deficiencies. Also movie continued too long, if it has been ended after Kentero's and his sister's learned the truth, it could be more effective.
Vinny37
A very interesting film, interposing current with WW2 scenes, Kentaro, a grandson (simplified) researching his biological grandfather (Miyabe) who flew as a Kamikaze yet some had branded a coward. The twists become more complex, as a complex life is drawn, and a number who had known Miyabe, even a converted enemy, lived to fight for him after the war. I found it heart warming, until (about 2hr, 16min in), a US naval officer showed just how dishonourable the US side apparently was by screaming the F-word – that's the only place such shame comes into the film. A bitter taste after the film ended. I would not have watched (nor would again) had I had the head's up beforehand, and grade it as close to a zero as the IMDb allows. I cannot recommend that nihilism, though the film otherwise was exemplary.
kvisle-91828
This is an involved and engaging love story using Japan's involvement in WW2 as a back drop. It starts and ends with I believe a replicated scene that was based on actual footage that I remember seeing when I studied the history of the Second World War in the Pacific.There was nothing I didn't like about the film. I liked the characters, the plot and the CGI. Nothing overpowered any other part of the film.It is a long film at nearly 2.5 hours but I found it totally engrossing.A week after I saw it I watched it again with my daughter (who knows very little if anything of the Japanese involvement in WW2) and she enjoyed it also. She rated it 8/10I found it to be a refreshingly different portrayal of the other side in that conflict.Last Friday night a group of friends came around for dinner. During the meal I was asked if I had seen any good films lately. So after dinner we watched The Eternal Zero. Harry gave it 7/10, Vicky 8/10. If anyone else rates it then I will update this post.
CountZero313
A brother and sister initiate a personal project to find out more about their grandfather, a World War II kamikaze pilot. When they discover their grandfather was universally regarded as a coward, their enthusiasm begins to wane. But the brother persists, discovering there is more to the story.This is a subtle film, foregrounding the personal consequences of war for rounded, authentic characters. In the process, the film astutely stays away from either justifying or apologising for Japan's war actions. Jun'ichi Okada is a revelation as the pilot instructor who attempts to save his young charges from the excesses of his superiors, often at great personal sacrifice. He makes a promise to his wife, but then seems to compromise it in order to be loyal to his men. The resolution of this conflict makes for a powerful and well-plotted storyline.The flashbacks to the war are engaging and dramatic, but the film's weak point is the bland Haruma Miura guiding us through the story. In a scene conspicuous for its shallow clunkiness, he berates his friends for equating tokkutai with modern-day suicide bombers. No real camaraderie seems to exist between the friends, and the whole scene seems designed merely to relay the point that modern-day fanaticism and historical Japanese 'heroism' cannot be equated. It is a fop to present-day rightist revisionism that is unworthy of the rest of the film.Eien no Zero shows ordinary people living extraordinary lives in extraordinary circumstances. A thoughtful, emotional film that, casting flaws aside, proves cathartic and thought-provoking in equal measure.
