Angelinos: Kamikaze Documentary "Wings of Defeat" Playing Tomorrow!

Hi Blog,

Beyond the Sun was the version one name of Risa Morimoto's feature documentary Wings of Defeat. I cut that documentary about two years ago while I was still living in NYC and it was after I'd left NY that the director and producer decided to rethink the project and started over from scratch. Wings of Defeat is that new version and I am now listed in the credits as 'Associate Editor'. The documentary has received overwhelmingly positive reviews around the world and has already enjoyed a 23-city theatrical run in Japan and is now available there on DVD. (I wrote about that previously on this blog.)

I feel that Wings of Defeat -- which focuses on the Tokkotai (special attack forces, of which the Kamikaze pilots were but one iteration) and the reality and duress surrounding the use of suicide attacks during WWII -- is of particular interest given the recent controversy surrounding the Li Ying's Yasukuni documentary. The key difference here is that Wings of Defeat features first person interviews with the actual pilots and victims and is a film about understanding what this war did to the young men in Japan and the US who fought in it. In addition there's an effort by the filmmakers to create a cross cultural understanding between the Japanese and the US as witnessed by their recent US education tours wherein they've brought the US victims of Kamikaze attacks and some surviving Japanese pilots to speak at US high schools. NPR (National Public Radio) covered this the other week, in an interesting piece. (Here.)

At any rate, if you live in Los Angeles you can check Wings of Defeat out tomorrow May 4th, noon, at the Laemmle's Sunset 5 where it is playing as part of the Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Screening info here.

More about the documentary and the high school educational tour that has been created in the US to create greater awareness of the issues discussed in the film, here. (From the Japanese Embassy in the US homepage.)

Edgewood Pictures homepage.

Imdb page.

Yasukuni

Hi Blog,

I haven't had any time to write about the documentary YASUKUNI, by Japan based Chinese ex-pat Li Ying, and the controversy that is swarming around it but fortunately people who are much smarter and more articulate than me have!

Because I think this is important, I'm including a link to a great article about the film, that also includes an interview with Li Ying. The link can be found below.

In the meantime, here's what you need to know:

• There's a major freedom of speech issue that has developed as a result of this documentary. Nationalists and conservatives both within and outside of the LDP have decried the film as a Chinese campaign to discredit Japan, and by proxy, the Emperor.
• At issue: Movie theaters around Japan that had agreed to screen the film have backed out at the last minute citing safety and security issues that might arise out of the inevitable [violent?] protests by Japanese nationalists.
• Defenders of the film and those who believe in the constitutional right to free expression claim that it is a well orchestrated campaign by conservative LDP leaders in cahoots with nationalist groups (that act as their strong arms) to stifle diverse and free expression in Japan. Critics claim that it represents an abuse of public arts funds to support what they believe to be essentially anti-Japanese film.
• What the real issue is: Freedom of expression in Japan. With recent political trends there are questions about whether basic civil liberties are being compromised -- or destroyed -- in Japan by members of the LDP... Certainly things there have become much more difficult recently for foreign nationals.

At any rate, at the Japan Focus e-journal David McNeill and John Junkerman have assembled a very good article and interview with Li Ying about the documentary YASUKUNI and the issues surrounding it. It is recommended reading. Link.

TOKKO (特攻) aka. Wings of Defeat (aka. Beyond the Sun)

A little over a year ago, while still living in NYC, I edited a feature documentary called BEYOND THE SUN. Directed by first time feature filmmaker Risa Morimoto and executive produced by Japanese translator Linda Hoaglund, it is about the the Tokkotai (which were the Japanese special attack forces-- aka. the Kamikaze-- during World War Two.) After I left NYC it was re-edited and re-titled to WINGS OF DEFEAT. My credit was changed from Editor to something called an 'Associate Editor' (which I am honestly not entirely sure what it means).

Be that as it may, the film is now playing theatrically in Japan under the title TOKKO (特攻) and is getting very good reviews. The prospects are high that it will be playing around the world at some point in the near future. It is a fascinating topic and deserves to be seen if you have the chance!