KAIJU CATACLYSM
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka
Released December 1st, 2023
Rated PG-13
The name Godzilla may conjure thoughts of goofy monster movies from the 1970s, or an ill-advised, iguana-influenced American remake from the late 1990s, or the current big budget “MonsterVerse” films that co-star the legendary King Kong. It’s a credit to how pliable of a character the big green monster has proved himself since being introduced as a terrifying embodiment of atomic war in director Ishiro Honda’s classic 1954 film Gojira.
The latest addition in cinema’s longest running film franchise, Godzilla Minus One, comes from Toho, the studio that launched the King of the Monsters some seventy years ago. If you’ve never seen a Godzilla film before, this is a fine place to start. A standalone period piece set in the 1940s, Godzilla Minus One returns the titular creature to his more serious, somber roots, with the title meant as an indication that things are about to get worse for post-war Japan.
The horrors of war weigh heavily on Kōichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a former kamikaze pilot whose cowardly actions mean he escaped the war with his life, but now he doesn’t know what to do with it. We meet Noriko (Minami Hamabe) as she is taking care of an orphaned baby that she found lost in the post-war rubble of the city streets. Noriko is plucky and independent, yet decides to move in with Kōichi in the aftermath of the war, creating a patchwork family of survivors.
Japan is rebuilding cities while the citizens are rebuilding their lives, struggling to move on emotionally after suffering a great loss. Then a giant monster brings more destruction to their lives. Godzilla attacking after the war is over is a direct way to address the fact that the traumas of wartime do not disappear once war is over. Godzilla is presented as a terrifying force of nature and arguably is the scariest he’s ever been on screen. His introduction as a smaller, younger, more agile creature is stunning as he tears through everything in his path like a wrecking ball. Soon Japanese citizens find themselves coming together to devise a plan to stop this latest threat to their shores, doing so without the assistance of the powers-that-be.
As our leads Kōichi and Noriko, Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe make for an engaging couple to follow on this perilous journey. You care about them more than some of the other humans in monster movies of the past. Another standout is Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kenji Noda, a former Naval weapons engineer (with great hair) who will prove instrumental in defeating the menace of Godzilla. I’m gob smacked that Takashi Yamazaki wrote, directed, and handled the special effects for Godzilla Minus One. It’s truly impressive work on all three fronts, perhaps best illustrated by the extremely tense scene where the Big G chases after a small boat carrying our heroes in the Pacific Ocean. Naoki Satō’s powerful score perfectly conveys the film’s emotional stakes and incorporates Akira Ifukube’s classic Godzilla theme to stirring effect. All of these elements come together to create a highly entertaining monster movie, full of the thrills you would expect, and an emotional undercurrent that may surprise you. There are some humorous moments, but you’re almost laughing to release stress since it is overall such a foreboding film.
Godzilla Minus One is critical of war in general, and somewhat shockingly, the Japanese government in particular. A heartfelt film about the dangers of blind patriotism, the importance of forgiving oneself, and embracing the possibility of new beginnings in the wake of extreme grief and suffering, Godzilla Minus One is without doubt one of the best films in this long-running series, absolutely a top-tier entry into the kaiju canon.