Godzilla Minus One: The Most Human Godzilla Film

 

I had the privilege of being invited to a showing of Godzilla Minus One this past week. I'm thankful the trailers kept much of the content of the film a mystery. Upon finishing the film, one of my friends cheekily remarked, "Well of all the Godzilla movies, that was definitely one of them." Though this was partially in jest, we all agreed it was a pretty accurate statement. We all enjoyed the movie pretty equally. Now that I've had some time to ruminate, I will give you my more detailed thoughts.

I titled this review based on what I think is pretty accurate. Both thematically and in the literal narrative, this movie is a very human Godzilla movie. Depending on your point of view (probably the majority of Godzilla fans) this could potentially be a negative. Comments thrown towards kaiju films tend to be more negative if there isn't enough monster action, as that is the primary draw for these movies. Even so, the human stories have to take up some of the runtime, as special effects are costly and we would probably tire quickly of them if there was no context for the actions. I look to Michael Bay's Transformers series as the most obvious example. 

However, I have often enjoyed the varying human plots and would argue that since Godzilla films are very human in terms of their commentary. Cautionary tales of scientific progress and anti-war imagery is very much at the core of the series. It's why the original is one of my favorite movies. It manages to convey the effects of such devastation through the lens of a very effective monster and contributing effects, lighting, soundtrack ect.

This movie brings things back to the origins of why Godzilla movies were made, but making it even more personal. Our main character is a kamikaze pilot who did not want to die for supposed honor and avoids it. His fear for his own life interferes with his ability to fight against Godzilla in their initial encounter early in the film. He blames himself for the deaths of all the mechanics, although we know his plane's machine gun probably wouldn't need much of a difference. Guilt continues to follow him, as he is given the photographs of the families of all the victims by the only other survivor. Then he returns home to a war-torn town where he is made a scapegoat for the deaths of the civilians there. I would imagine this was a feeling many soldiers can attest to. 

As the plot progresses, our protagonist (Koichi), slowly begins to connect with others. He creates a family of sorts with a woman from the village and a baby they adopt. Though they become a family unit, Koichi refuses to fully commit to the idea and fully accept his role as a potential father and husband. In one tearful scene, he bluntly tells the young girl to stop referring to him as her father. Koichi doesn't seem to think he deserves to be happy or really to have a life at all. Godzilla acts here as a physical representation of the man's guilt and inability to move on from the trauma of the war. Godzilla is really more of a ghost or presence throughout much of the movie, basically haunting our hero. Even when he takes on a job to support his new family, it is a dangerous one, removing mines from the surrounding ocean. Once again, the remnants of the war haunt the man and the country. As if this isn't enough, our filmmakers continue to torture Koichi as Godzilla makes himself more present to the Japanese countryside, causing the devastation we expect. 

This certainly isn't the only movie to focus more on the suffering caused by the giant monster on a more personal level. I do think it is one of the ones that does it best. The characters in the film are all very believable and sympathetic. There are moments of humor, particularly from the former sailors who work with Koichi to destroy the old surrounding mines. They all have distinct personalities, but none of them misses the war. In fact, they all seem to be dealing with it in different ways. 

I do like how the sailors all band together as a rag-tag group of underdogs, taking on Godzilla directly without the aid of Russia or the United States. I think this was purporting the idea that Japan has to face its own demons and move past the aftereffects of war by itself. Koichi's personal struggles are mimicked by the people around him, so the message is pretty clear here. Not that this means that the struggle will be easy, but there is an undercurrent of hope despite the fairly bleak tone for most of the movie.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned Godzilla much yet. You may think that would be a problem in a Godzilla movie. Sometimes that is the case, but not really for me here. I suspect some take issue with it, but the human story is just so strong and emotionally palpable I really didn't notice much. When, Godzilla is on screen, he is used very effectively.  My favorite moments include his first appearance, where he hasn't been mutated by radiation but looks much more like a T-Rex esque dinosaur, his chasing our protagonists in their little excavation boat, and his heat ray causing explosions that look pretty similar to the destruction of a certain type of atomic weapon. 

I will say that in terms of design, Godzilla looks pretty standard compared to the slightly eldritch-looking being of Shin Godzilla. He looks good though and harkens back to the classic villainous presence of some of his films. It's Godzilla in classic fashion.

My only potential negatives in the movie might be in the direction it takes towards the end. With the tone of the film seeming pretty bleak and grounded (all things considered), I was expecting it to go a different direction than it did. Let's just say it has a much more happy ending than it seemed to be building up to...and then makes it even more uplifting. It bordered a little on the schmaltzy side, but I didn't mind too much as it felt like our heroes deserved a bit of a win. That being said, Koichi's final battle with Godzilla makes him one of the most awesome in Godzilla film history, even if I would have preferred a slightly more bittersweet resolution. 

Overall, I would honestly say that Godzilla Minus One is both very true to the idea of Godzilla (well one half of the series anyway) and also delving deeper in this regard than any previous film has. It is the most human Godzilla film and also one of the best. I still think I like Shin Godzilla a little more though, but that's a story for another time.

A

P.S. I didn't get the title towards the end of the movie. Even how they take Godzilla down is very unique. I have a strange desire for an Ice Godzilla action figure. 

Ridley Scott's Napoleon: I Guess I Don't Know Much About History

I am happy to say that I went into Napoleon with virtually no knowledge of the film, which is pretty hard to do these days. I finally broke down and watched a trailer to entice my wife into accompanying me to the theater. We've recently gotten married and were invited to see the film along with some fellow teachers from MovieMindsPodcast. Our plans for a local honeymoon were interrupted, so we weren't able to see any new movies in the theater. With prices increasing, the school year in full swing and a lack of movies which enticed us, we just don't get out there as much. So, Napoleon is my first theatrical experience as a married man. This is perhaps fitting (maybe?) that the narrative is sort of a tragic romance of sorts. That's not to say I recommend it as a typical date night movie, by any means.

The film was not what I was expecting. Well, in a general sense it was (pun was actually not intended there but I'm keeping it anyway). The specifics of the thematic elements were more the surprise. As I suspected, the movie follows Napoleon Bonaparte through aspects of his political rise to power and several major chapters in his military campaigns. As my wife and I were discussing, it's often difficult to fit any person's life (let alone a towering historical figure's) into a few hours. Usually they focus on one major element or event, or just give brief intercuts throughout the most notable moments. 

We see Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) as an adult, although no real effort is made through make-up or digital effects to signify any aging throughout the story. This biopic opts for lightly breezing through major events but breaks them up with sprinkles of intrigue by various statesmen and nobles. Most notably, the filmmakers spend several scenes putting together recreations of several major battles. While I think think the most love and care was put into those aspects of Napoleon, the juxtaposition of this is what I suspect is core of the story. This being Napoleon's relationship to his wife, Josephine. 

I will confess at this point with some embarrassment that, despite considering myself something of a history buff, I don't really know a great deal about Napoleon or his wars. I guess I've never been super drawn to that period of Europe between the Renaissance and the First World War. That is one of the film's greatest positives, in that it genuinely made me more interested in learning more about the man.

Unfortunately, the desire to read more about this period is driven by a lack of real depth to many of the specific facts and a kind of unclear theme which seems to contradict itself in a number of ways. I honestly applaud the less obvious approach of focusing much of the film on Napoleon's passion and accompanying frustrations with his wife, who seems rather unfaithful in conjunction with the two having a kind of unhealthy relationship. Josephine is a character who confuses me, as she is portrayed as being both at Napoleon's mercy but also very aware of her power over him. I'm not saying love can't be messy and I'm sure the actual events brought their own unique complications. However, since the film doesn't really make the intentions or the motivations of these characters very clear, I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to feel about them. Simply put, despite all the scenes with them, I don't really know them. 

While I really admire this idea of Napoleon being very devoted to his wife, with all the imperfections of the relationship included, I don't think it really works well as presented. I think the idea seems to add some feminine power as a motivating force behind the French general, but it feels like no real clear statement is ever put forth. Not that it necessarily has to, as Phoenix does a great job of portraying the complex emotions Napoleon feels for his wife, especially upon hearing of her death. However, we are never really sure why. Then again, maybe he doesn't know. Love is complicated. I guess I can look past that a bit. Unfortunately, the lack of any real dialogue or scenes clarifying this make the character study on Napoleon himself even more confusing.

His love for Josephine is implied to be intertwined with his eventual downfall. This is an interesting idea, as if the man's drive is directly connected to his love for this woman. Between their marriage being made null and her death, Napoleon's victories dwindle. Once again, I really like the general idea of this theme, but I couldn't really see any direct correlation between these two ideas. As one of my fellow podcasters pointed out, "It's two films." I agree.

While I did find some of the ideas of the romance and surrounding political atmosphere moderately intriguing, where this movie shines the most is in the battle sequences. While I'm not sure if Phoenix would have been my first choice for Napoleon (based on my admittedly limited knowledge), I really liked the contrast between his soft spoken demeanor and his decisiveness in combat. He portrayed a man who was quietly confident. I appreciated that. The overall production of France circa 1800 was fantastic, with amazing sets and costume design. It's in the battles that these elements, combined with other special effects really bring you into the time and place of the battle. It feels larger than life but also rather gritty and realistic, with hints of that movie magic greatness I love. 

I will say I think the violence is honestly a bit much, as it is placed deliberately enough to draw attention but with a lack of frequency that allows it be a surprise when it happens again. One one hand, this film shows the horrors of war while on the other kind of glorifying it through the bombastic presentation of other classic war films. This is understandable, since the concept of war has often been shown to be both horrifying and oddly intriguing. It's why films like these exist and a complicated issue probably worthy of another blog or two. I'm sure some experts with much more authority on the subject than me have written about it somewhere.

Regardless, this movie leaves me uncertain about how to feel about Napoleon and I think there may be some clunky aspects of the script or production that diminished some of the fine polish of the cinematography and costumes. Napoleon dies and his last words imply a devotion to his men, his country and his wife. These are among the final texts at the end of film, along with the number of casualties caused by his wars. From what I understand, Napoleon is a controversial figure, as the text suggests. I can understand Scott not necessarily having an answer or taking a stance (although I think it helps to). Regardless, I can't help but feel like I didn't really know this version of Napoleon as well as I could have.

Scott has his place in film history for sure, having made some truly great films. Alien is one of my favorite movies, so I really appreciate his work. While I did not like Napoleon nearly as much as Gladiator or The Martian, I think it had some true moments of greatness. Ultimately, the film's overall themes and objects felt as undercooked and enigmatic to me as the title character. There are some gorgeous shots though.

C+