‘Oppenheimer’ finally premieres in Japan, to mixed reactions and high emotions

Oppenheimer Finally premiering in this country on Friday, the Oscar-winning film stars an American scientist who invented a nuclear weapon that destroyed two cities 79 years ago. The response from Japanese moviegoers has been understandably mixed and highly emotional.

Toshiyuki Mimaki, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the age of three, said he was fascinated by the story of Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” for his leadership of the Manhattan Project.

“What were the Japanese thinking, attacking Pearl Harbor and starting a war they could never win?” he said sadly in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

He is now the president of an atomic bomb victims organization called the Japan Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims Alliance Organization, and he sees Oppenheimer at the preview event. “Throughout the whole movie, I kept waiting for the scene where the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but it never came,” Mimaki said.

Oppenheimer There is no direct description of what happened on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly incinerating some 100,000 people and killing thousands more, mostly civilians, in the days that followed.

Instead, the film focuses on Oppenheimer as a person and his internal conflicts.

The film was released in Japan more than eight months after its release in the United States, and audiences watched it with trepidation due to the sensitivity of the subject matter.

Former Hiroshima mayor Takashi Hiraoka, who spoke at a preview event for the film in the southwestern city, was more critical of the omitted content.

“The horror of nuclear weapons from the perspective of Hiroshima has not been adequately depicted,” Japanese media quoted him as saying. “The purpose of making this film was to verify the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save American lives.”

Some moviegoers appreciated this. A man emerging from a Tokyo theater on Friday said the movie was great and stressed that Japanese people are very interested in the topic, despite their volatile moods. Another said he got choked up by scenes in the film depicting Oppenheimer’s inner turmoil. Neither man would give his name to an Associated Press reporter.

Last year, there was a backlash over the “Barbenheimer” marketing phenomenon, which blends pink with fun, a sign of historical controversy. Barbie very intense Oppenheimer.Warner Bros. Japan, Inc., Distributor Barbie In the country, memes depicting Mattel dolls with images of atomic explosions have apologized.

Kazuhiro Maeshima, a professor at Sophia University who specializes in American politics, called the film an expression of “American conscience.”

Those expecting an anti-war film may be disappointed. But Maeshima said telling Oppenheimer’s story in a Hollywood blockbuster would have been unthinkable decades ago, when the justification for nuclear weapons dominated American sentiment.

“This piece shows an America that has changed dramatically,” he said in a phone interview.

Others say the world may be ready for Japan’s response to the incident.

Director Takashi Yamazaki Godzilla minus oneThe film won an Academy Award for visual effects and in its own way made a powerful statement about nuclear disaster, suggesting he might be the best man for the job.

“I think Japan needs to give answers Oppenheimer.One day, I want to make that movie,” he said in an interview with Oppenheimer Director Christopher Nolan.

Nolan readily agreed.

Lawyer Hiroyuki Shinju noted that while nuclear threats were growing around the world, Japan and Germany also committed wartime atrocities. Shinju said historians say Japan was also working on nuclear weapons during World War II and would almost certainly use them against other countries.

He wrote in his review: “This film can serve as a starting point for solving the legality of the use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as mankind and Japan’s reflection on nuclear weapons and war.” Oppenheimer Published by Tokyo Bar Association.