Why can¡¯t ¡°Unbroken¡± ¡ª Angelina Jolie¡¯s hit World War II drama ¡ª catch a break in Japan? There are presently no plans to release the film here in theaters, on DVD or online, even though it has a strong Japan focus as well as a major role for popular local rock musician Miyavi (whose real name is Takamasa Ishihara).
That focus, however, is on the tortures Miyavi¡¯s character ¡ª a sadistic internment camp guard ¡ª inflicts on the captured Louis Zamperini, a real-life U.S. bombardier hero played by Jack O¡¯Connell. Based on Zamperini¡¯s war experiences ¡ª related in Laura Hillenbrand¡¯s best-selling 2010 book of the same name ¡ª ¡°Unbroken¡± has been fiercely attacked by Japanese rightists. Hiromichi Moteki, secretary general of a group called the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact, told Britain¡¯s Telegraph newspaper that the film ¡°has no credibility and is immoral.¡±
All of this, however, is business as usual. Local rightists have been complaining about movies they consider anti-Japanese for decades. But several of those films had something ¡°Unbroken¡± doesn¡¯t: a Japanese release date.
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