Midnight Eagle

The jacket cover on this reads like a typical war/action film. A stealth bomber crashes in the Japanese Alps carrying a nuclear payload. The Japanese government sends in special forces to recover the bomb before terrorist agents can beat them to it. Sounds exactly like some that could be named The Expendables. But this is much better than that. While the description is true, it really isn't an action film. This is a Japanese film that gives pretty good insight into the culture and psyche of the Japanese people around the idea of war, fighting and nuclear weapons. I find it fascinating that an entire country can have pacifist leanings, having ingrained aversion to combat and fighting. This film illuminates this thinking using journalists who are working to get the scoop on this story as well as former war reporters who have first hand seen the atrocities of war and had their ideals blown up in the process. It is a good treatment of some of the difficulties of a nation without an army and tries to show how the subtle differences between and army and self defense force are not subtle, but essential difference for many people. Very thought provoking.
4 stars (out of 5)