All That Remains

There is a good post-war Japanese move (in black and white), called "THE BELLS OF NAGASAKI," about the life of Takashi Nagai. But it's not available with English subtitles: in fact, it's hardly available at all anymore. This film fills the hiatus a bit by offering a glimpse into Nagai's celebrated life as a victim and survivor of the Nagasaki A-Bomb, and his slow death by radiation poisoning, during which he authored some 15 books (if I remember correctly).This movie does some creative, imaginative, and slightly quirky things with special effects; but it's a good introduction to the life of Nagai, nevertheless. Nagai is a man who should be known: he was visited in the little shanty in which he lived his last years by Emperor Hirohito, the papal nuncio to Japan, by Helen Keller, and a long list of international celebrities. He is a sort of "Japanese Gandhi," and advocate for peace, who argued against blaming the U.S. for the bombing of Nagasaki and, instead, viewing the bombing, for which ground zero was the Catholic community of Urakami, as an atoning sacrifice to secure peace for his motherland. He was well aware of the Japanese crimes committed in Nangking and Manchuria, and I think that played a role in this assessment, which might otherwise seem a bit of a stretch.Recommended viewing.

"All That Remains" is the story of Dr. Takashi Nagai, a husband, a father, a doctor, and a convert to Catholicism who survived the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Mourning his wife killed in the blast, and weakened by his own injuries, he worked with other medical professionals to care for the many victims who survived the blast. Dying of leukemia because of his research into x-rays, Dr. Nagai devoted the last years of his life to caring for his children, illustrating and writing books sharing his insights into the meaning and lessons of the atomic bomb, and welcoming visitors who came to see him in his small hut. His writings helped Japan to recover after the war and challenged the world to recognize the dangers of atomic destruction, pleading that the Nagasaki Holocaust would have meaning if the world learned never to use the atom bomb again.The director chose to use a variety of techniques: drama, documentary, and Computer Generated Images to share Dr. Nagai's amazing story.

I read A Song for Nagasaki some years ago, it was phenomenal. The story helped me discover Blaise Pascal and his Pensees. This film, though it is obvious that they were not working with an infinite budget, was very well done. It retold the story well in a way that held my attention like the book did. One thing that could of improved the movie is if they could of got Setsuko Hara to play Midori, but unfortunately she was born far too early. Yuna Shin did a great job too. Highly recommended.

I really wanted to like this movie. Our son is named after Takashi Nagai. We greatly admire this man. However, this movie was downright confusing even for people who know the outline of biographical events. It was unclear who many actors were portrating until many scenes later. There are strange special effects, such as drifting dust or snow, in nearly every shot. The CGI is terrible. The music and continuity is bizarre. We had to keep referring to Wikipedia to figure out what was going on. I highly recommend reading Nagai's book and skipping this movie entirely.

I wanted to like this more than I did. This didn't really scratch the surface of Takashi Nagai's story,though there are a couple strong scenes. It would've worked better as a documentary and not a biopic. The filmmaker also used a weird filter that made most scenes look overexposed. It is well acted, but if you care to learn about Nagai, read "A Song for Nagasaki".

Important subject. The life of Takashi Nagai is inspiring and encourages further discussion and thought. The film covered his life to some extent. Be aware that this film is not linear as an historical account, however. I think it would be confusing for people who are not familiar with the events of Nagai's life. The significance of specific scenes can be lost and the symbolism of objects, sounds and lighting overlooked if one has not read Nagai's books or biographies about him. The film has a stark beauty and intensity; the filmmakers clearly care about Nagai. I could call this more of an impressionist art film than a biography.

Tagashi Nagai's life built up into an extraordinary climax, which was his resolution in thought about the bombing of Nagasaki, an event he lived through. A good film of an even better book, both unsentimental and straightforward. This is an actually amazing, surprising saint.

Absolutely a travesty of film making. Cheap tripe. Poor production values. A dishonor to Midori Nagai.