- Sensibility: Much of the dramatized portions of the "truth" stand out from the rest of the film. There are many interactions from the psychologist that are obviously fabricated for cinematic effect.
- Cinematography: Production design is excellent. However, costuming get over-simplified and repetitive, even if semi-realistic. Minimal notable visual elements exist in the film, which feels more like simple story transcription than elevating it to a cinematic art form.
- Energy: Other than regular interruptions of melodrama, the truth of the story and the characters involved are interesting enough to keep things moving.
- Narrative: Although it contains many of the pitfalls of the typical war-time historical semi-non-fiction films, the story isn't afraid to degrade the characters or the tribunal, portraying them as they were without excessive glorification. However, there are huge swaths of the story that feel unnecessary and artificial, like an interaction with a translator, interactions with a wife and child, and the behind closed-doors conversations from the prosecution.
- T-Points: The film received two bonus points: one for a great acknowledgement of the US "defending" itself from the Japanese on Japanese soil and one for some horrific historical footage from the concentration camps.
I came in expecting the typical run-around from historical non-fiction films, but this one has a few surprises that make it worthwhile.
Number of Watches: 1
