Totally Japanese perspectives ignoring the other victims
# This movie portrays a group of Japanese soldiers fought against US military in Saipan island even after Hirohito, Japanese king, had surrendered - from Japanese perspectives alone. But technically, showing an US officer in the movie joining the war, it seems to carry a viewpoint from US soldiers too as well as <Letters From Iwo Jima> and <Flags of Our Fathers> does.
Captain Lewis, an American officer, having learnt Japanese when he studied in Japan two or more years, represent American perspective. He persuades his boss to understand Japanese ethos mentioning 'bushido', the traditional code of samurai. He ends up declaring that he admire Oba saying he's a real soldier. Given what he said and did, he is pro-Japanese. I'm not criticizing an American perspective in the movie - but propaganda instilled to him in the movie by the producers(obviously Japanese). It's made in Japan and didn't sufficiently explain why he's so favorable to Japanese ethos. Japanese soldiers were hostile to US army altogether, but why their enemy wasn't so?
In Saipan 3000-odd Korean people caught up to serve as sex slave or comfort women or do coercive labor. The movie didn't have any implication of this.
Although they propagate the war they ignited, the production was endurable to watch storytelling and battle scenes.
ps. As regards the title 'Oba: The Last Samurai'. Oba was a soldier in WWII, but why 'samurai', which means a professional medieval warrior in Japan?
