Midnight Eagle: Mostly Familiar  Greg Kaczynski

The terrorism bug hits Japan in Izuru Maritime’s Midnight Eagle, a sometimes unbalanced mix of action-thriller and heartwarming drama about an American B-5 stealth bomber that crash lands in the country’s Northern Alps and the conveniently connected web of people who work together to stop the explosion of its nuclear payload.

The central character of the story, Yuji Nishizaki (Takao Osawa), is a retired war photographer who used to work in the Middle East. He is widely known and respected in Japan, or at least within the group of people affected by the events of this film. After witnessing the horrors of war, Yuji decides that he’s had enough and doesn’t want to spread images of war anymore. He returns home to his wife and child, but then immediately flees to the peaceful mountains of the Northern Alps where he can take beautiful photographs of the sky and landscape. While out in the wilderness, his wife passes away, leaving his son to be raised by his embittered sister-in-law, Keiko Arisawa (Yuko Takeuchi).

Even after his wife’s passing, Yuji remains up in the mountains taking photographs of the night sky. That’s when he witnesses (and photographs) the stealth bomber crashing and two F-15s close behind. Suspecting something is awry, he returns to the city.

Back in civilization, Shinichiro Ochiai (Hiroshi Tamaki), a recently disgraced news reporter who considers Yuji his “senpai,” or mentor, is contacted by Yuji who informs him about the crash. This, along with a story about two enemy agents being fired upon at a local American base, leads Shinichiro to believe that the very story he got fired for trying to write (American planes from the same base carrying nuclear payloads over Japan) is actually true. He then gathers Yuji to hike back into the Alps to discover what was aboard the crashed bomber.

All the while, the politics going on amongst the prime minister and his cabinet unfold. As the facts are revealed about the plane, its payload, the mysterious “Northern Agents” found in the area as well as those fired upon at the base, the politicians become increasingly anxious about the situation. They decide to take action on their own without the help of the U.S.

Finally, there is Keiko, who is the editor at a national magazine. Shinichiro ships Yuji’s photos over to her, initiating her and Yuji’s estranged son into the rapidly unraveling tale of these mysterious agents trying to implement a nuclear threat on Japanese soil and the massive ruination it would have on the country if they were to succeed.

The pieces of Eagle move together in fairly predictable ways and work towards a mostly expected ending, making this essentially an American-style political-thriller with a Japanese spin on it. This spin means that the film revolves tightly around the themes of honor, sacrifice and responsibility, basic principles of Japanese stories and culture.

That small difference, though, is worth noting. While the majority of the movie is a “been there, done that” exercise in high-stakes terrorism defense, the Japanese take on government and personal responsibility is refreshing. In this film, there is a moment where the prime minister himself actually apologizes to civilians who have unintentionally gotten involved. The PM is shown being vulnerable, weighing the very powerful, devastating effect he can have on other people’s lives; the head of the Japanese government is shown actually taking personal responsibility for his actions. It feels jarring, perhaps only to us Americans, but appropriate that a head of government would make such emotional and personal consideration about his citizens while dealing with a national threat.

At the same time, Yuji battles with his own inner demons--the violence he witnessed overseas, his regret for having left his wife and son, not being present when his wife was dying--and struggles throughout the film to find some ounce of redemption on the mountain. The very real inner torture that is experienced by those who have seen and lived through war is acutely and painfully apparent within Yuji.

While the relationships all seem a bit too convenient and sometimes the humor doesn’t quite translate, this personal war within Yuji is the most interesting aspect of the movie. Actor Takao Osawa is given rich, deep material and he mines it, making it his own experience. While some of the film’s logic can sometimes leave the audience scratching its collective head, Osawa’s performance keeps the heart of the film alive.

Also worth mentioning is the breathtaking work of cinematographer Hideo Yamamoto. If this movie is going to be seen, it really should be seen on the big screen. Whether it’s the curious angles of the city or the stark, vicious, but beautiful mountains that paint the backdrop for most of the film, Yamamoto truly knows what he is doing, and the result is often stunning.

Political differences, Osawa and the celluloid eye-candy aside, however, there just simply is not enough to keep Midnight Eagle particularly interesting or make it all that noteworthy in the political-thriller genre. There are the gun-fodder mysterious “Northern Agents” who don’t speak Japanese (or do they?), the friends-in-arms who are gunned down, the nuclear bomb on a timer...these are things that have all been done before and there’s just not enough freshness, originality or even enough heart to truly recommend this film.

Midnight Eagle is now playing at The ImaginAsian Center, 251 So. Main Street, in Los Angeles.

For more information, visit midnighteagle.jp/english/.