Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean

Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean
Directed by	Shinji Higuchi
Written by	Harutoshi Fukui Satoshi Suzuki
Produced by	Chihiro Kameyama
Cinematography	Akira Sato
Music by	Naohiro Sato
Distributed by	Toho Fuji TV
Release date	March 5, 2005
Running time	128 min.
Language	Japanese

Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (ローレライ, Rōrerai) is a Japanese film directed by Shinji Higuchi. A fictional story of the Japanese military saving Tokyo from the third atomic bomb during the waning days of the Second World War, it was the highest-grossing film in Japan during the week of its release. In spite of the film's success among domestic audiences, it came under suspicions by foreign critics of glorifying Japanese exploits during the War and portraying the Axis power in a victimized light. One of them, Jasper Sharp, named Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean as the worst Japanese production of 2005, calling it "one of the silliest and most misjudged uses of celluloid I have seen in a long time."

Plot

The story of "Lorelei", based on a best-selling novel written by Harutoshi Fukui, finesse inconvenient historical facts by an up-front resort to "what if" fiction. The starring submarine, the I-507, is a gift of the dying Nazi Germany to the Empire of Japan in the closing days of the war. This sleek behemoth bears heavy resemblance toward the French submarine Surcouf and is equipped with imaging technology that is far in advance of the era's primitive sonar (and is of course a pure manga-esque invention).

The mission, as revealed by the grim Chief of Staff Asakura (Shinichi Tsutsumi) after the A-bomb attack on Hiroshima, is to intercept U.S. ships transporting a third nuclear weapon to Tinian Island, where B-29 bombing raids were launched against Japan. This, of course, is complete fiction, as is the man charged with the mission, Commander Masami (Yakusho Koji) -- a brilliant destroyer of enemy ships relieved of his command when he opposed the navy's increasing reliance on suicide tactics. Given a last chance to redeem himself, he is burning with zeal, but is ignorant of the various secrets the I-507 carries on board.

Once at sea, Lt. Takasu (Ken Ishiguro), the owlish technician in charge of the imaging system, refuses to tell Masami what it is or how it works. Masami also discovers that two crew members belong to the "kaiten" suicide corps. He has no idea why they are there -- and neither, for the moment, do they.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is tracking the I-507 with more than usual interest. What, Masami wonders, is going on here? Enough to say that a sweet-voiced teenage girl (Yu Kashi) is part of the master plan and that one of the minisub pilots (Satoshi Tsumabuki) becomes her protector -- and something more.

Cast

Starring

• Koji Yakusho - Masami Shin'ichi
• Satoshi Tsumabuki - Yukito Origasa

Supporting Cast

• Toshiro Yanagiba - Kizaki Toshiro
• Yu Kashii - Paula Atsuko Ebner
• Shin'ichi Tsutsumi - Asakura Ryokitsu
• Ken Ishiguro - Narumi Takasu
• Isao Hashizume - Sadamoto Nishimiya
• Masato Ibu - Eitaro Narazaki
• Takaya Kamikawa - Man
• Kreva - Shunpei Komatsu
• Jun Kunimura - Matoi Tokioka
• Takehiko Ono - Shichigoro Iwamura
• Shugo Oshinari
• Ryuta Sato - Kikuo Kiyonaga
• Pierre Taki - Tokutaro Taguchi
• Yoshiyuki Tomino - Ouwada
• Shingo Tsurumi - Sankichi Oominato

Reviews

• "Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean". Kamikaze Images at Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2008-12-06. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

Sources

• Lorelei at IMDb
• "ローレライ[[Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text]][[Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text]]" (in Japanese). Variety (Japanese edition). Retrieved 2008-12-06. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
• Schilling, Mark (March 25, 2005). "Lorelei: The Witch Of The Pacific Ocean". Screen International (1494): 24.