The Fighter Pilot

2013 [JAPANESE]

Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance / War

9
IMDb Rating 7.3/10 10 3012 3K

world war ii pilot kamikaze past and present imperial japanese navy

Plot summary

A brother and sister learn their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during World War II. During their research into his life, they get conflicting accounts from his former comrades about his character and how he joined his squadron.

720p.BluRay
1.29 GB
1280*536
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   dk   fi   sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 23 min
Seeds 14

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ryanmo-35178 8 / 10

Is he a hero? Is he not?

Reviewed by steveo122 8 / 10

No matter why or who you fight, the fighters are proud of their victories and devastated by their defeats.

Outstanding. Epic. Straight to the upper echelons of my all time greatest war movies list. I had never heard of it until I recently read a list of films with the best flying sequences and the air battle scenes are riveting. Caveat: if you don't like CGI, you won't like this. It's 2013 CGI, not flawless, but the sequences are so ambitious and well planned that if it had been put together by the people who did "Dunkirk" it would be one of the greatest war movies made. (It's on my list, but that's my list.) And that includes the predominant very well written, emotionally satisfying drama plot that atones for any nit-picky production flaws. "The Eternal Zero has come under criticism for its nationalistic and sympathetic depiction of the Kamikaze pilots." Oh, STFU. There is nothing 'glorious' about it and if you can watch something like this without sympathy... No matter why or who you fight, the fighters are proud of their victories and devastated by their defeats. I've certainly never seen a better 'Japanese side of things' film.
Reviewed by LunarPoise 7 / 10

of war, family, and sacrifice

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.
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