Review of Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) by Filipeneto — 09 May 2020

A masterpiece.

There are certain films that stand out, remain over time, gain cult or classic status. This film is definitely one of them and in all fairness, as it gives a very faithful account of the Japanese attack on the American base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

For the few who do not know, the United States stayed away from World War II until this attack. Until then, war was a problem for European countries (which naturally also extended to the territories that depended on them, such as the African and Asian colonies). The United States still considered entering the war only against Japan, in the theater of the so-called Pacific War, but the succession of subsequent events (the Axis declaration of war on the United States on December 11) justified the total adhesion to the conflict. The attack took place in the early hours of December 7, 1941, hours before the declaration of war, but the truth is that relations between the USA and Japan have been deteriorating since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931), American public opinion it was very much against Japanese expansionism and the United States retaliated over occupations of European territories in Asia with increasingly harsh economic sanctions, refusing to negotiate without Japan accepting a previous agreement that the Japanese saw as humiliating. That is, for the most part, Pearl Harbor happened because American diplomacy did not know how to play the game. The attack was so predictable that Roosevelt decreed, months before, the passage of the American Pacific Base to Hawaii and the reinforcement of the military presence in the Philippines to deter the attack and increase the pressure for Japan to accept diplomatic concessions he did not want. At the same time as Pearl Harbor, the Japanese also attacked military points and bases in Guam, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong, in addition to invading Timor-Leste, the territory of Portugal. As the film says, and very well, the attack was a relative success: it managed to delay and disperse the American fleet, but the damage caused was repairable and the aircraft carrier ships, which it was vital to disable, were not even in port.

The film is very faithful to historical facts and this is an asset, since it is an important event for the Second World War. The effort to recreate environments and facts was to the point of using airplanes of the time and recreating combat techniques. However, it is one of those war films in which the audience essentially sees a fictional documentary of what happened. The construction of the characters, for example, is very limited, restricted to what they did and the role in the event, with no dramatic nuances or sub-plots. In the film we can see an excellent cast, where I would highlight Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards, Takahiro Tamura, Tatsuya Mihashi, George Macready and James Whitmore. Everyone did a virtually immaculate job, but the construction of the characters did not demand much from the actors either.

Technically, the film is practically perfect. We have competent cinematography, which makes skillful use of the sun, light and clouds; good special effects, visual and sound, excellent props and scenarios and totally according to the time and historical context, in addition to a discreet but effective soundtrack. Another very pleasant detail, in addition to all that has been said, is the use of the Japanese language, as unfortunately it is customary for American films to be entirely spoken in English, even if they represent situations or people where the English language would not be used.