The film, which starts shooting on June 2, concerns the postwar trial, in Yokohama, of Lt. Gen. Tasuku Okada, former commander of the 13th Area Army in the Tokai region (the area centered on the prefectures of Aichi and Mie). Nineteen of the general's subordinates were also on trial with him.
I play Col. Louis Rapp, president of the military commission. It should be a very interersting experience.
To tell you about the film, I will summarize and quote from an article I read on line by Roger Pulvers, a co-writer on the film with director, Koizumi. "The court proceedings stemmed from the last months of World War II, when giant American B-29s carried out relentless and indiscriminate bombings of the region, using high-explosives, napalm and other incendiary ordnance. Tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, were burnt to death.
Thirty-eight American aircrew who parachuted out of their planes were captured, summarily tried and executed as war criminals in June and July 1945. The war ended with the Emperor's capitulation on Aug. 15, 1945.
The subsequent Yokohama War Crimes Trials garnered much less publicity than those held in Tokyo. For one thing, the latter dealt with alleged Class-A war criminals, such as wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The trials in Yokohama were for alleged B- and C-Class war criminals.
Also, by the time the Yokohama trials were under way, the people of Japan, like the Allied Occupation forces governing them, were turning their attention to reconstruction and away from retribution.
Nonetheless, the claims against Okada and his cohorts were grave. They were that the American airmen had not been given fair trials, and they could hardly be held responsible for merely following orders.
Therein lies the crux of the film. What is a war crime and who is responsible for one when it occurs?" *(http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070520rp.html)
That's all I know for now, but if you're going to be in Tokyo during June or have any suggestions for my rare days off - drop me an e-mail.
See you in July,
2 comments:
I read the script of this movie and I am glad to have a small role in it too ( even just as a MP standing in the court-room ) because the film is about an interesting topic. But from my opinion, the question is not "what is a war crime and who is responsible if it happens ?", the question is "who has the right to judge about that ?" The answer is "always the winner" ;-)) War is always a crime and there is no independed truth. If Japan would have won the war, Okada would have become a hero, now, he became a criminal. That is the real tragedy. But I think, it will become a good and important movie ... and I am looking forward to watch it later ... and of course being a small part of it. See you in the court-room and if you need to know, what is worth doing in Tokyo ... well, it depends on what you like to experience. The fascination of this city is everywhere. It does not depend on where you are going, it depends on what you will be able to see ;-))
I am playing LT.Corker, officer at the Sugamo prison
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