Fragments of the Last Will is an excellent emotional drama based on a true story.

 

Today's blog post focuses on a real tearjerker of a movie. I wanted to get away from non-stop action for once and thus, took a chance to branch out with a heavy drama movie. The results left me an emotional wreck. How and why you may ask? Well, that's down to it being a brilliant movie based upon true events that happened. Directed by Takahisa Zese and based upon the non-fiction novel, Lageri kara Kita Isho by Jun Henmi, Fragments of the Last Will focuses on the lives of Japanese soldiers imprisoned in Russian gulags after the 2nd World War. 

Following the events of WW2, in 1945, Hatao Yamamoto is in Manchuria and has recently attended a wedding when the Russians suddenly launch a surprise attack. This assault breached the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and as such, the Japanese were ill-prepared for such an attack. Yamamoto ensures that his wife and kids make it out, but he himself is captured by the Soviets along with many other Japanese troops. Yamamoto soon finds himself transported to the harsh concentration camps in Siberia. Despite the harsh treatment he receives, he vows to return home to his family and even after he along with the rest of the main cast are transported to another brutal "labour camp", he refuses to give up hope. Meanwhile, his wife Mojimi is steadfast in her belief that her husband will return home, no matter how many years pass. 

Along the way, Yamamoto encounters other key figures in the story. One such figure is the young soldier Matsuda, a man haunted by his own perceived cowardice on the battlefield and a poor soul who witnessed his friend get killed right before his very eyes. Matsuda serves as the main narrator of the movie, which led me to correctly guess were the movie was going with Yamamoto's fate. He strikes up a good friendship with the kind Yamamoto and once the latter falls ill, it is Matsuda who takes a stand and demands that the Russians take him to a hospital for treatment. This act serves as a form of redemption for his previous cowardice and he is seen in a new light by the rest of the prisoners. 

One of my personal favourite characters was Aizawa. As a sergeant, he outranked a lot of the prisoners and acted like it. Being very strict, he harshly bellowed and berated those beneath him if they acted out of turn in his eyes as the higher ranked soldier. There's more to Aizawa than meets the eye and he has some of my favourite scenes in the movie such as when he reveals his backstory. As a soldier, he followed orders to the letter, even when disagreeing with them. One such order that he despised following was executing Chinese prisoners of war. His regret is palpable and he feels like he can't face his wife and yet to be born child. At one point, he is beaten up by his campmates or at least the ones who join the activists who are trying to be allowed to leave via spreading the evils of Communism and they show hypocrisy in that very scene. It is later revealed that his wife and the baby were both killed in the air raids, which devastates him to the point of him attempting to get himself shot. Claiming that he has nothing to live for, he is only brought back from the brink of despair by Yamamoto's kindness. 

Hara is Yamamoto's former superior. Much like Aizawa after the latter's wife and child are revealed to have been killed, Aizawa becomes a depressed loner, despondent and unattached to anything, his life included. He is treated rather cruelly by the activists in the camp, the ones who have appeared to have converted to Communism in order to try to be sent home and he is made to sit in front of everyone with a sign on his body. During conversations with Yamamoto, Hara reveals that he is the reason for the harsh sentences that the former and others in the camp received because he sold them out. His reason for doing so is because he thought that he might be allowed to return home to Japan, which of course didn't happen.  

Lastly in the form of major characters within the camp is Shin. A tragic figure, Shin was never even a soldier as he had a bad leg. A simple fisherman, he was caught catching fish and sent to the camps with the soldiers. Yamamoto's friendship with him could also be described as a mentorship as he teaches Shin to read and write as well as form Haiku's. 

Cinematographically speaking, the movie is pretty looking. There's a variety of various shot types with static and moving shots being used when needed and necessary. It's not the most dynamic cinematography, but it gets the job done well enough. My favourite shot of the movie comes within the first half-hour. The shot is an overhead shot that showcases the land that the soldiers are forced to work on whilst the blue skies and autumn leaves create a beautiful backdrop. What I did notice was there was some subtle use of colour. A prime example of this is in the scene in which the poor young harmonica is shot whilst attempting to escape. The colours of the background have been faded almost entirely with just the characters in the foreground being in proper colour contrast. It gives off a foreboding feeling and is a sign that all is not well, and it worked for that scene. 

A movie heavy on drama is only as could as its' cast and Fragments of The Last Will has a really solid main cast. Kazunari Ninomiya, a man that I have known for over a decade due to him being a part of the popular J-Pop group, Arashi, really impressed me with his captivating performance as Hatao Yamamoto. He nailed the kind-hearted nature, the fighting spirit to never give up and also the languish and acceptance of his final fate. He was the heart of the movie and he had great chemistry with the rest of the cast. I'm sure the real Hatao Yamamoto would be proud. 

Tori Matsuzaka was also delightful as Matsuda. His character arc was believable and that was helped a lot by Matsuzaka's talent. He nailed every emotional beat, especially towards the climax where he delivers his part of the will. 

Kenta Kiritani was one of my favourite parts of the movie. Aizawa as I stated previously, was one of my favourite characters and Kiritani played a large part in that. In fact, he may just have the best arc out of all of the characters and he nailed every emotional beat, from the harsh superior officer to the redeemed friend. His delivery of the part of the will that he memorised hit me the hardest as he balled his eyes out towards the end. 

Ken Yasuda also had the talent to convincingly pull off Hara's redemption arc. He went from the down and out officer to a full friend and mentor to most of the camp as well as a liaison that negotiated with the Russians for them to be able to enjoy playing baseball and get Yamamoto to a hospital. 

Overall, I would absolutely recommend Fragments of the Last Will. It's a fantastic movie based on true events with a glorious cast and a pretty solid production. It also serves as a reminder that Communism is evil and should be treated as such.