Kobe Shimbun No Nanokan

Oct 18, 2011 23:52

I just finished watching the Kobe Shimbun No Nanokan aired on Fuji TV on 16 January 2010. I downloaded it because it starred Sakurai Sho. I downloaded it a few months back, and it was sitting on my hard drive, untouched. I delayed watching it as much as possible.

Because of the nature of the movie, I knew I would be doing some thinking after watching it, and that I wouldn’t be able to continue my everyday life. My everyday life of go to work-come back home, my everyday life of working away from my loved ones, and getting below minimum pay out of my efforts. My everyday life of hiding from opportunities, afraid to lose the one anchor I have now. Stupid, stupid fear.

Now I’ve watched the movie. I’ve seen the third person view on the disaster. It’s like getting punched in the stomach while wearing 6 jackets. It’s had an effect on me. What is that effect? What am I going to do now? The way things are going, my heart and mind have already calmed down, and I will wake up tomorrow morning, remembering that I felt something when I watched this movie. I will not remember what I felt, because I don’t know what it is.

The workmanship that went into the movie was good. The documentary voice overs (other than Sakurai Sho’s) fit very well with the video depiction and made me, a non-japanese speaking person feel the undercurrent urgency and weight of the matter being depicted. Sakurai Sho’s voice overs successfully managed to convey love and sympathy.

What got to me strongly was the unwavering journalists. They had a job to do, and they did it. Never look left, never look right. Where there were strong hearted journalists, there were also weak ones. The movie managed to successfully capture the doubts and difficulties these journalists were facing at that time. Not understanding anymore what they were doing, losing faith in their job. This feeling of helplessness was also conveyed well.

Sakurai Sho did well here.

At one point in the movie, the tone turned brighter and more hopeful. I am sure that this particular turn of events in reality, had helped build back all of those affected by the disaster. For me personally, I felt it was too fast, and I couldn’t comprehend this hope. But it doesn’t matter, because I am learning of it 15 years after it happened, comfortably seated in front of my laptop, my belly full after dinner. Safe in a hotel in Temerloh, where no disaster of this magnitude has ever happened, and probably never will.  Maybe I just have a lot of growing up to do.

I learnt that a lot of people are deeply affected by any disaster. I will never understand just how much. All I can do now is appreciate these stories being shared about them. Many people figuratively die, and many are reborn. Everybody changes.
 

arashi, important thoughts, sakurai sho

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