Lorelei (2005) User Reviews (14)

Review of Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean

[UberNoodle · 6/10 · 2 September 2005]

A fun Sci-Fi World War II film! Sci-fi WWII film you may ask? Well even if you didn't, pretend to be intrigued and shocked by the concept. The set up is simple: Having received a highly advanced submarine from Germany, the Japanese deploy it, just days after the Hiroshima A-Bomb, to seek out a transport ship carrying the 2nd bomb. The sub has a secret weapon, called the Lorelei System, and all of the crew are drawn into the mystery of what exactly it is.

Needless to say, you've probably worked out that Lorelei itself is the Sci-fi element, and it works well, even though it feels at times like a device to push forward the partially allegorical storyline. "What do you fight for?" is the question asked by this film, and by exploring the answers given, it has something to say to us about war and life. The film is not any where near as heavy, or thematically dense as seen in Casshern, so it thankfully also delivers a thoughtful, drama with some cool action, to balance out the inward reflection.

Lorelei is a "What if?" film. If the World War 2 ended differently, what would that mean for Japan? There is a large degree of dialogue in the film; expositions from various heroes and villains about the past and future of Japan. In this way, the film reminds me of anime. It's not just the philosophical speeches, it's the action scenes, the characters, and the style. Anyone who has seen Captain Herlock, Yamato, or even Blue Submarine No. 6, will feel it. I for one think it is a strength, though many will see it as a flaw. If you are looking for Das Boot, then watch Das Boot. Lorelei is about pure escapism.

The acting is all well enough and there a few veterans in there that give credibility to the story. In fact there are many familiar faces in there, and it's a fun just to count them. The CG is also very good for a non-Hollywood film - or should I say, non-ILM film. The graphics look generally realistic, but the compositing looks surreal at times. There is a dreamlike nature to the sfx that reminded me of the aforementioned Casshern, though some viewers demanding photo realism may cringe.

On the whole, the SFX, when not on par with some higher budget offerings, is at least as good or better than some of the cut-scenes seen in video-games nowadays. And the music is atmospheric and suitably militant and heroic when it needs to be, bring this overall package together. The haunting song of the Lorelei System is notably used in a few scenes to great effect. Of course the sound design is great, with all of the "submarine" sounds you expect. Can we ever get enough of that sonar sound? The DVD comes with THX certification, and Dolby and DTS tracks.

SO is Lorelei a good film? Well look at it this way: not all films are meant to be picking up "best film", and while this film is certainly one of that category, it's a fun romp. Plus, since Fatherland, I am a sucker for Alternate History films. In all, the film can be quite cheesy and contains a plot twist that I still don't fully understand, and I hope someone can enlighten me one day. However, even when Lorelei is overly sentimental and trying too-hard to pull your heartstrings, it is enjoyable. With great anime inspired undersea battles, and an interesting and involving story, its is an worth watching.

3/5 stars, or whatever unit you prefer ...

Great Production - Problematic Story - Recycled Philosophy

[ChungMo · 6/10 · 8 December 2006]

Excellent direction and acting highlight this WW2 fantasy which build upon a film genre that doesn't get much play outside Japan, the Japanese WW2 drama. Hundreds of war films have been made since the US occupation after the war. Most of the films are about the human tragedy of the war instead of glorifying the effort to create a racist empire. As a side note which relates to this film in an way, Eji Tsuburaya, the special effect mastermind behind the Godzilla films, never thought much about his monster effects. He was always the most proud of his work recreating WW2 battles and we in the US never have seen this work.

The plot is well described elsewhere here so I'll skip to other points about the film. The production is very well done and realist-looking most of the time. I am sort of sorry that they introduced a number of fantasy elements to the story that just upset the atmosphere for me. Somehow the Nazis managed to create a holographic radar system and made only one which they gave to the Japanese instead of using for themselves. On top of that the system requires a psychic/empath to be attached to it by tubes. On top of that they somehow have a beautiful Japanese girl who was sent to the concentration camps before she was experimented on and attached to the system. On top of that somehow her operatic singing has the ability to pass thru walls, seawater and broadcast itself over the radio. The idea that the US was preparing to bomb Tokyo with a third atom bomb wasn't much of a problem although the historical record indicates that the two bombs were all the US had at the time.

As mentioned here already also, I felt like I was watching an episode of Leiji Matsumoto's Space Pirate Captain Harlock during a rousing speech about free will. Believe me it's much more convincing coming out of the anime character's mouth if you have the luxury of comparison. The CGI effects were mostly video game cut scene quality and the depiction of sea battles were unrealistic. The sub-plot about military commanders taking over is based on actual events at the same time but what happens in the film is a very strange comment on the opinions of actual Japanese war veterans who agree with the US decision to drop the atomic bomb.

OK film not for heavy thinking.

Excellent production, but a flawed story.

[rsaintj · 6/10 · 26 August 2005]

I found LORELEI entertaining with some great performances and production values (especially for a big budget feature, by Japanese standards), but felt the story was lacking in a number of ways.

Shinji Higuchi (special effects director for GODZILLA-MOTHRA-KING GHIDORAH and Shusuke Kaneko's GAMERA series) shows great promise here to be an excellent director. His talent and originality really shines in this film, and it's obvious he has a big future ahead of him. I'll be looking forward to his adaptation of NIPPON CHINBOTSU (JAPAN SINKS) next year. Despite his background, Higuchi shows in LORELEI that he knows how to balance SFX with the drama.

Koji Yakusho as Captain Shinichi was wonderful. I'm so used to seeing him play laid back, morose characters in things like Kiyoshi Kurosawa films, and I didn't think he could be as animated as he was in LORELEI. Tokusatsu fans will also appreciate a good performance from Jun Kunimura (Major Komuro in GODZILLA FINAL WARS) as Dr. Matoi Tokioka, and one of my favorites, Masato Ibu (the Old Controller in GFW) shows up as Admiral Narazaki. On the other hand, the "young leads", Yu Kashii as Paula and Satoshi Tsumabuki as Origasa left me rather cold. The western cast was one of the best I've ever seen in a Japanese film, delivering their lines and reaction shots on a much more convincing level than anything I've seen recently in Japanese SF/F film.

Special effects heavily dominated the movie, and although great (unprecedented?) for a Japanese film, they still looked like special effects more often than not. I was surprised (and a little disappointed) how much of it seemed to be CG as opposed to miniatures work. Very few shots looked "real". There was an almost dreamy "unreal" nature to many of the shots that may have been intended. But I think Japanese SFX crews still have a long way to go with compositing. Having said that, water is said to be the most difficult thing to work with in CG, and they did an admirable job with exciting dramatic shots that supported the story rather than detract from it.

As I mentioned, though, the story itself felt weak in spots. LORELEI was written by Harutoshi Fukui, based on his bestselling novel "Shuusen no Lorelei". Based on what I've read of the original storyline, there were many changes made in the transition from print to screen, and the film probably benefits as a result. The storyline is tighter and faster, and jumps right into the action.

But there are, in my Western-informed opinion, some mixed messages here that are a little hard to swallow, much of it related to how the Japanese tend to address their own perceptions of Word War II. Fukui certainly makes his politics known in the story. This is not to say that the Americans or Allied POV is treated poorly in the story, not at all. I just felt that there was a somewhat skewed "Japan as victim" angle that perhaps requires a Japanese background in order to truly empathize. As a result, it makes it difficult to understand some of the character motivations and twists in the story.

As far as the sci-fi element of the story (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW), I was surprised by how little of it there was. The I-507 itself is a very advanced German-built sub that has a detachable minisub that is towed by cable. The minisub is operated by one crewman and occupied by Paula. Paula has been engineered by the Nazis to be a living sonar, and is delivered to the Japanese as a component of the "Lorelei System". She's wired and tubed up to the minisub, and the whole device basically provides the I-507 with a super-advanced 3D visualization system with a reach of 120 nautical miles. This makes the I-507 incredibly accurate, but the deadly side effects take their toll on Paula. It's an interesting concept, but it's really just a plot device, sort of "What if Japan had a modern day weapon in WW2?" In the end, it's only used to position against more "What ifs" such as "What if the US had a third atom bomb at the time?" and "What if there were Japanese who had a hidden agenda towards the end of the war?" Nevertheless, LORELEI is an exciting look at what can be done by modern Japanese filmmakers with a big budget, quality talent and time. It takes the best of big-budget American thrillers, and fuses it with a more thoughtful Japanese approach to human drama that is, more often than not, lacking in its western counterparts. It remains to be seen whether the politics of the film will prevent it from wider exposure to audiences in the U.S..

waste of time...

[md722 · 1/10 · 3 September 2005]

The film reveals the Japanese's view of themselves as "the victim of Atomic bomb". The crew of the submarine Lorelei believe that they are fighting for their homeland and the future of Japan and hence sacrifice themselves at the end of the movie by surfacing on the water (even though the area is surrounded by US fleets) so that they can take down the US airplane which was carrying the third atom bomb heading for another drop in Japan. Of course the whole situation is fictional but the Japanese should know that they never needed to see Hiroshima or Nagasaki if those stupid Japanese war maniacs and that irresponsible Emperor had surrendered in prior.

Surprisingly emotional and heartwarming

[Rob_Taylor · 7/10 · 6 May 2018]

I wasn't sure what to expect from Lorelei. A sub movie, certainly, but not one with such warm characters and subtlety of script. I expected a simple wartime tale, but got so much more.

All of the cast give excellent performances (with perhaps the exception of the main villain, who is given to staring madly during emotional moments). But even he does his part justice for the majority of his screen time. The rest have no trouble conveying either their characters or the emotions they are going through. This is particularly important due to the often very much more subtle and under-emphasised nature of Asian facial expressions. Yet here there was no trouble for my poor old Western eyes to understand who was feeling what.

Also to be commended in a cinematic age where heroes never die is the concept of noble self-sacrifice, which is evident here. The notion that "Everyone lived happily ever after" is a seemingly uniquely Western one that has gotten out of hand in recent decades. There aren't many Western movies that are willing to kill off characters and those that do often handle it badly (I'm looking at you...new Star Wars trilogy). So it is a pleasant change to be reminded that not everyone has forgotten this concept, or how to implement it.

The story also is worth commending. In an age where Hollywood churns out formulaic script after formulaic script, having something which doesn't follow those cookie-cutter writing conventions is like a breath of fresh air. It should be noted that the story is still rather simple, however, but realised in a way that makes you overlook that simplicity. That said, I admit I failed to see the main plot "twist" evne though, in retrospect, it was spammed hugely in the opening minutes. That's okay though. If I fail to spot something that obvious, it usually means I'm enjoying the movie so much that I'm not analysing it, which is rare these days.

As far as effects go, they are serviceable by today's standards. The movie was made in 2005, so they are actually pretty good for that time and, barring a few scenes, don't distract you or take you out of the movie. They do their job and you never have to try and figure out what is going on on screen.

All in all, there isn't anything I can point at and say was bad... except for maybe the climactic scenes weren't very convincing and could have done with a rethink. The very final scene was rather obvious and formulaic, but done well enough, because it washed the slight disappointment of the climactic action sequence.

You'll note I haven't spoiled any of the movie with specifics. That is deliberate. When a movie tries its hardest to be entertaining and makes me pleased I spent the time to watch it, the least I can do is not spoil it for others. So apologies if the rather non-specific comments here leave you scratching your head and wondering if it is worth your time.

Who is this movie for? Anyone that remembers the older generation of war movies where the heroes faced impossible odds yet somehow came through will find plenty to like here. Likewise those that are just tired of the tedious nature of much of American cinema and want something that isn't entirely hamstrung by those movie-making conventions, will also find this a refreshing change.

SUMMARY: Entertaining and surprisingly subtle and emotional. Well worth your time if you like old war movies.

A somewhat new way to issue an old history will in Japanese war movie

[settledown · 5/10 · 12 March 2006]

The slick music is a flaw. It's a pity that traditional Japan music can't be adopted in movie about modern affair. Music sound tedious in a repeated oppressive rhythm, as well as the cadenced music that helped to arose the urgency condition. Perhaps better without the background music.

Having watched some Japanese WWII movies. The common narration was: graceful landscape and relics in motherland, dear family members or lovers --everything in country is so beautiful, and all these should be cherished; be forced to frontier; found be cheated by warlord (only when defeated?); but, in any way, soldiers should behave braveness and obedience (approve the real Japanese soldiers' behavior in late stage of WWII); at last, somebody sacrificed for their honor, the survivals represent the hope of new Japan.

-- All above in the service of such a mention: the own country is the core, in other words, Japan is the most important. It seems most Japanese turn a blind eye to other nation's suffer, and addict themselves to their own perception. People in occupied territory means nothing, and if they does, they should appreciate the occupiers from the same Asia for their 'liberation' from Westerners. Defeat is not reconciled to -- 'Go down swinging'. If plot not be treated so, the nation's 'self-pride' would hurt. Sometimes, remorse or condemn to warlord are allowed, in an delicate 'apropriate' limit, but it wouldn't account for the main line. Scenarios must be turned around thereafter anyway. Perhaps someone responsibl for movies partially realized the fact, but they just wouldn't recognize it.

Watch it with the right expectations

[konrad-296-152616 · 6/10 · 13 May 2016]

If you, like me, watch this hoping to see a Japanese "Das Boot" one of three things will happen:

1. You fail to realise that this is not a Japanese "Das Boot". You won't like the film and you will leave a 1-star rating.

2. You do realise that this is not a Japanese "Das Boot", but don't like what it in fact is. Ratings will range from "I didn't like this, and that's all that counts" 1-star ratings to good ratings of "while I didn't like this, I can appreciate the movie for {how it was made/story line/whatever}".

3. You do realise that this is not a war movie but in fact a science fiction drama in a world war II submarine setting, and that is something that you at least don't immediately dislike just because of that.

Once I came to terms with this being a science fiction-movie I actually started to enjoy it. I like the fictional story line as well as the science fiction parts of the movie and the movie feels very good made. If I watch it again starting with the right expectations it's even possible that the rating will go up another star.

I think that where the movie falls short when compared to other movies en large is just the mix of genre and setting. It's like the Caprica TV-series, said to be a Sci-Fi Dallas. While not a bad series in itself people who like Dallas doesn't necessarily like Sci-Fi and vice versa, and therefore the series gets a bad average rating. I can therefore understand the low average grade this movie gets despite that this movie actually is quite good.

I expected way better

[DanTheMan2150AD · 4/10 · 17 February 2024]

The directorial debut of Shinji Higuchi, Lorelei very quickly sinks into ridiculous territory despite the promising initial set-up. Sadly, for all the inspiration it can take from Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot, the humanisation and exploration into the psyche of the submarine crew was not one of them; so much of the film flounders around with nonsensical political undertones that I've seen people criticise Takashi Yamazaki for, yet it's one full display here. Glorifying suicidal charges and glossing over human experimentation as if it were a trivial matter. So much of Higuchi's talent and style isn't here, often coating everything in a horrendous digital sheen; the direction is okay at best but honestly, it could have been anyone else behind the camera, let alone Higuchi. The acting is easily one of the better aspects with everyone turning in solid performances, however, the cast is given so little to work with that all their characters end up as one-dimensional cutouts. The music by Naoki Sato is passable but far from his best work and the less said about the incredibly rough CG effects, the better. I really wanted to like Lorelei going in, but the dubious political alignments and underwhelming filmmaking stamped out any form of entertainment I could have gotten from this, I expected far better.

A Japanese mix of historical fact and supernatural fiction

[michaelstudte · 9/10 · 5 March 2005]

Lorelei can best be described as a Japanese version of "Das Boot" with a supernatural storyline thrown in. The setting is the last week of WWII, Hiroshima having just been bombed. A Japanese veteran captain is given command of a German-surplus submarine with a secret weapon, the "Lorelei System". As viewers of Japanese movies will know, scenes with English-speaking characters usually end up very awkward, with the English-speakers often being cheap local "talent" grabbed off the street, in most cases with very questionable English credentials. But this movie was just about on-par with the classic Tora Tora Tora, using professional Hollywood and local English-speaking actors that portray their roles to near perfection, making the whole movie flow smoothly. Without giving away spoilers, it's difficult to review this movie. But the advancement of computer graphics has made for some really visually stunning submarine battle action. If anything, the surface vessels come across as being a bit lifeless, as the effort was spent on the underwater sequences. At 140 minutes the movie is long, and by western standards probably somewhat talky, but there is a lot of political maneuvering going on in this movie, plus the diverting from history as we know it, that requires the additional dialogue. All actors put in very decent performances, the soundtrack is fittingly orchestrated and the cinematography excellent. While not being the classic that "Das Boot" was, this movie is very enjoyable, and with subtitles could potentially get a decent western cult following.

Great action/drama film

[aerolbj · 10/10 · 20 July 2006]

A bit simplistic but it's fast paced and well directed.

The CG scenes are stunning.

Music was wonderful.

And Yu Kashii was cute!!! Characters are a bit cardboard but this is an action film, for gods-sakes! A few plot holes of course, but nothing that can be ignored.

A bit vague at times, especially the ending, but I blame the translation from book to movie.

An excellent little movie if you want to turn your brain off a little - unlike American action films were you turn your brain _totally_ off.

Good Historical/SciFi Story

[edstrelow · 9/10 · 26 November 2005]

The movie is set in the waning days of World War II, Japanese cities are being devastated by firebombing, and Hiroshima has been Atom- bombed. The plot centers on an attempt to prevent further Atomic incineration of Japanese cities by using an advanced submarine to prevent the delivery of other bombs. The Japanese cast was very strong and as others have noted, the American characters which are often third-rate actors in Japanese movies, were at least OK.

The submarine was supposedly a late donation from the Nazi's to Japan. In fact in the film, it is almost identical to the French Surcouf submarine, which defected to the allies after France fell to the Germans.

The Sci-Fi element is a young girl with an almost telepathic ability to see underwater. (I really don't think this information will spoil anything, but some viewers may be excessively touchy on such details) Other plot twists I will leave unsaid.

I was fascinated by the way the Japanese attitude to the war was presented. The link with the Nazi's was somewhat explored and there was much discussion of the faults of the elders of Japanese society for starting a war which caused such chaos to the country. Not to be too critical on this point, but the movie did seem to dwell solely on the harm which befell the Japanese people, with no acknowledgment of the harm the Japanese did to others by starting an aggressive war in the first place. The Japanese have been criticized on this issue in other contexts, notably by the Chinese. Not that this detracts from the movie, but is is something we Gaijin (foreigners) may note.

Nevertheless there is a sensitivity shown in the telling of the story which is quite remarkable given the subject matter. I found the movie to have a literary and almost poetic feel compared to a comparable American film. I mean have you ever seen a discussion of Dostoyevsky in an American Movie?

One understands the suffering of a people, few of whom had any say in starting the disastrous events of the war. The soldiers mostly just "followed orders". The civilians of the cities of Japan, ended up as the real victims.

The subplot involving the Captain on shore who orders the submarine on its mission, is not so much hard to follow as to understand the motivation. Possibly it makes more sense to the Japanese audience, who would be familiar with the book on which this is based.

The computer work was not up to western standards, but was serviceable. I was left wondering if anyone would be prepared to hire an American or New Zealand lab to redo this to a higher standard. To do so would make the movie a genuine epic.

Very good alternate history sub movie is done in by compression from the novel

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 20 September 2005]

I found out about this film when I stumbled across the trailer. It looked spectacular, and when I finally got to see it, found it was.

(SPOILERS) The plot of this film changes a few things about the history of the Second World War. Just before the defeat of Germany they gave Japan a prototype submarine with an advanced underwater tracking system called Lorelei. The sub when used was known as "the witch" by the Americans because of the eerie singing that was heard after each attack. Just after the first atomic bomb is dropped on Japan the sub is put into the hands of a once renegade captain who refused to go along with the suicide missions that the country had begun to use. Desperate times called for desperate measures and he's pressed into service with a crew of so called misfits. Their job is to try and prevent a second bombing of Japan. Once out at sea it becomes clear that the Lorelei system is based on Nazi genetic experiments and has a human at its heart. Things become complicated when the second bomb is dropped on Japan and through a web of circumstances its believed a third one, aimed at Tokyo, maybe on the way. (END SPOILERS)

This is a rousing submarine tale told from the Japanese point of view. I liked how its not about winning the war rather its about the nobility of surviving and working towards a future. The music is rousing and the action sequences are spectacular. This is a great film to just sit down and immerse yourself in.

As much as I liked it, its not perfect. The problems come in two forms.

First there is a heavy reliance on computer generated effects with many of the surface ship sequences, they look almost unfinished or like something from a computer game. If you accept them for what they are you're golden, if not you may end up driven up the wall. The second problem is that this film is very convoluted when it comes to the plot. This was based on a novel and I kept feeling like I was missing some of the characters back story. On screen it worked because they knew their background, but in the audience I felt like something was missing. The film also suffers because one of the plot points, concerning one of the characters motivations for setting the story in motion isn't spelled out clearly until its almost in retrospect. Since we're not sure of why this was done, we, or rather I, became confused with what some of the other characters were doing. Its not fatal, but it does lead to several minutes of confusion.

I really like this movie a great deal. There is something wonderful about it that I can't put my finger on. I like that its trying to be a bit more than an action film, that it does have a point of view. I like that it draws you in, shakes up your expectations and makes you care about the characters. (and yea, you can sometimes predict whats going to happen, but so what? rarely can you guess everything, even if you get part of it right.)

I heartily recommend it. If you can take it for what it is, namely a flawed alternate history with uneven visual effects you'll enjoy it. If given the chance give it a try. I don't think you'll hate it, even if you don't love it.

8 out of 10 (purely out of frustration from the sense of missing something)

What do you fight for?

[syd111 · 8/10 · 30 June 2005]

"Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean" could be said the first of the "trilogy" (though almost entirely made, distributed and directed by different entities, for a good reason, to "divide the pie") based on novels written by Harutoshi Fukui (born 1968), with the other two being "Sengoku jieitai 1549" and the upcoming "AEGIS". A German- made submarine equipped with a secret weapon is dispatched on a mission to prevent the third A-bombing of Japan, the target this time being Tokyo. The film has all the elements to make it a good submarine movie including special effects underwater sequences and a mutiny, so I won't go into that. What makes this film, and the Fukui trilogy, special is how it treats the motivations for fighting a war.

Just a few years ago, "Hotaru" (2001, starred by Ken Takakura, who's starred in so many yakuza movies) treated "the same old stuff" about the tragedy of kamikaze pilots, for whom fighting and dying was "Imperial will" and no one doubted it, but in actuality, the real soldiers weren't sure if they were dying from their own will, or were just being forced to die. That is basically the theme that Japanese war movies have treated for the last 60 years.

"Lorelei" makes a little departure from that tradition in a good way. But it also drags that tradition. A young crew (who is convinced that he is fighting for the Emperor) asks a young girl "What do you fight for?" and the girl answers "Because I can sing, if I survive". Or, the Captain, after communication with the command structure was broken, solicits for volunteers to go shoot down the B29 strategic bomber that is about to take off to A-bomb Tokyo. He does not force his men to follow him in this suicidal mission, nor does he fight for any Imperial will; he and those who volunteered wanted to protect Tokyo their beloved city and its people their friends. Sounds normal? But this motivation was quite ABNORMAL in the war times. Soldiers had no free will to fight. They believed, or were forced into believing that to fight and die was virtue and honor. Anyone who doubted it was treated as traitor. It was patriotism elevated to religion. For 60 years, countless Japanese TV dramas and movies have doubted this belief, but were not able to come up with any alternative motivation for fighting a war. "Lorelei"'s answer to this question is that one fights for what he/she believes in, no matter what it is. But, that's all that the film can say anything about this issue.

So, "What do you fight for?" is not just a question that the young soldier asks. It has been a question that almost every Japanese has been asking since the end of WWII and not many have been able to come up with definitive answers. "Because I can sing, if I survive" could be one of the most definitive (and in my opinion, convincing) answers that anyone's ever been able to produce. See the array of the Japanese ground force weaponry in "Sengoku jieitai 1549" and naval and air weaponry in the upcoming "AEGIS". Then think about the situation that not too many soldiers who will be using those weapons will have any definitive idea as to what they will be using them for. I guess I'm being sarcastic. But this is the situation that has resulted from the defeat in WWII and the "peace Constitution" nonsense. Find parallels in (German) "Das Boot" (1981), but note the fundamental differences. Also defeated in WWII, THEY knew what they were fighting for. So, statements like "ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country" will fall on dead ears in Japan. People here aren't sure if their country is doing anything for them other than ripping off taxes, and have no idea what they can do for their country; or rather, doing anything "for the country" had been and is still considered a taboo (considered "ultranationalism"). This point is clearly made in "Lorelei", and if you missed this point, you've missed the whole point.

To compensate for this boring "comment", if you like anime, especially "Space Pirate Captain Herlock", though I'm not sure how its Western version turned out, the Captain of this submarine is depicted in his image ("Fight only for what you believe in"). Koji Yakusho who plays that role even looks like Herlock with his black coat and cap. The secret weapon "Lorelei" is also more animetic than scientific. There are also unrealistic, animetic scenes in which the sub shoots U.S. destroyers' screw shafts with non-detonating torpedoes. Or, can a sub shoot down a flying B29 with its cannon? These are all unrealistic, but seen as anime, they are "fantastic" if you know what I mean. But of course, this mixing of anime elements could be the film's shortcoming, especially if you've never seen an anime.

If you are tired of watching Japanese war movies that only depict the aforementioned "tragedy", you will be relieved to see this movie. It looks so NORMAL, after 60 years of self-repentance for allegedly starting the Pacific War under "brainwashed" mentality. (7/01/'05)

Something to watch

[Odiseia · 9/10 · 7 April 2023]

A solid performance by Yakusho, a great soundtrack, great effects... It is a film really not only to watch but to treasure. Those that enjoyed Das Boot, or like films like Saving Private Ryan must appreciate the craftsmanship and the detailing that Lorelei offers beyond any national jingoism.

Certainly its a "would be" scenario but portraits the spirit and the soul of Nihon, the sushi-do spirit that portraits the fighting spirit of the Japanese An Western reading of the film would be a complete misunderstanding of the real meaning that this Japanese epoch means, and the healing that brings both in performance as in soundtrack.