Yamato (film)

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Yamato

Original Film Poster
Directed by Junya Sato (as Jun'ya Satô)
Produced by Noriko Koyanagi
Written by Jun Henmi (novel "Ketteiban Otoko-tachi no Yamato)
Junya Sato (screenplay)
Starring Takashi Sorimachi
Shidou Nakamura
Yû Aoi
Kenichi Matsuyama
Junichi Haruta
Tetsuya Watari
Music by Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography Yoshitaka Sakamoto
Editing by Takero Yoneda
Release date(s) Dec 17, 2005Flag of Japan
Running time 145 min
Country Japan
Language Japanese
IMDb profile

Contents

[edit] Overview

Yamato (男たちの大和 Otoko-tachi no Yamato literally, "Yamato of Men", meaning "Men of Yamato"?) is a 2005 Japanese war film. With a framing story set in the present day, by flashbacks it tells the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The movie was a big success at the box office in Japan. It was directed by Junya Sato and is based on the book by Jun Henmi.

[edit] Plot

The plot is mainly of flashbacks that tell story of crew of Yamato. With this there are short reviews of what happened between scenes to provide historical information to the viewer.

[edit] Story

The movie starts in April 6th 2005, one day before 60th anniversary of sinking of the battleship Yamato. Makiko Uchida, adopted daughter of Petty Officer Uchida who had served on Yamato, wants to drop his ashes to the place where Yamato sunk. Unsuccessfully at first she seeks for a seaman that would take her to the place. One man accepts to travel the dangerous waters to the ship, Yamato veteran Katsumi Kamio. Kamio is suprised that, unlike he thought, he wasn't only of his friends to survive sinking of the Yamato. They set to the sea, and Kamio tells his and his friend's story.

As Japan started to lose the war, recuits became younger and younger. Kamio and other young men enlisted to the ship, and were assigned to their places. Kamio is ordered to an A-A gun. Petty Officers Uchida, Moriwaki and Karaki, other main characters of the film, are already serving in the ship.

First battle scene of the film happens at Leyte gulf, in which Uchida receives shots to his left eye and two more bullets, and is sent to hospital. Yamato is sent back to naval base for repairs, in which she stays until April 1945.

When americans landed in Okinawa, tensions in the ship increase, until it becomes clear that Yamato is sent to Okinawa. The crew is allowed to a last visit in Japan, meanwhile Uchida escapes hospital to join the Yamato in its suicide mission. In April 6 the Yamato and its escorts leave port. As the battle rages and Yamato starts to sink, Kamio loses his teammates and continues shooting aircraft alone. While seeking more ammo, Karaki gets shot. Kamio, Uchida and Moriwaki run to him but knowing that he is dead, they move to Kamio's gun. Soon Uchida gets wounded on his foot and falls off the gun. Kamio takes his place, and Moriwaki is also hit soon after. Kamio, screaming and shooting is shot in his foot. Uchida and Moriwaki throw Kamio out of the ship after order to abandon the ship. When waiting for rescue, Kamio is floating in water with his friend Nishi, who commits suicide by drowning. When the rescuing destroyer appears, Moriwaki ties him to a rope and swins back towards the sunk ship, never to return. Kamio is transported back to Japan with rest of the survivors.

Back in 2005, Kamio's boat arrives at the place where Yamato sunk. Makiko drops her father's ashes to the ocean, and they head back to Japan.

[edit] Characters

With the following, there are numerous minor characters in Yamato, ranging from random soldiers to Seiichi Ito.

[edit] Katsumi Kamio

Kamio lives with his mother near Kure. His father and his older brother has joined the war earlier. Kamio is visited by his cousin Taeko. Kamio joins the Imperial Japanese Navy and is commissioned to Yamato in 1944, there he is commissioned to a anti-air gun. He will be the sole survivor of his gun in operation Ten-Go. He travels with Makiko Uchida to the sinking place of Yamato in 2005.

[edit] Mamoru Uchida

Like Kamio, Uchida apparently lives near Kure. Good in judo, he also ignores the laws of the navy. Uchida is wounded in his eye during battle of Leyte Gulf and is transmitted to hospital in Singapore and then to Kure, he escapes to Yamato when he hears of her last sortie. He survives the battle, and post-war he adopts eleven orphans, including Makiko, as to show respect to those who died in the war.

[edit] Shouhachi Moriwaki

Although he is a major character in the movie, little is revealed of his life. A close friend of Uchida, Moriwaki works as a chef in the ship. He is seriously wounded in Operation Ten-Go to his shoulder, when in water he ties Kamio to rescue rope, swims back towards the sinking ship and presumably dies.

[edit] Roles

Actor Character
Ken'ichi Matsuyama Young Kamio
Tatsuya Nakadai Old Kamio
Shido Nakamura Mamoru Uchida
Takashi Sorimachi Shouhachi Moriwaki
Jundai Yamada Masao Karaki
Kenta Uchino Tetsuya Nishi
Koyoka Suzuki Makiko Uchida
Sosuke Ikematsu Atsushi
Hiroyuki Hirayama Tamaki

[edit] Trivia

  • In one scene Uchida is seen polishing a knife. Moriwaki recognizes it as 'the knife Yamamoto gave to him'. Moriwaki also remembers that the when the Admiral wanted to practice Judo, he asked Uchida to practice with him, which means that Uchida had good relations with the Admiral.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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