We heard it all before: enemies are people too who have families to which they long to return. But rarely do we see the protagonist change his mind about going home at the last moment. Love, sacrifice, promises, priorities, obligations, guilt, consequences. How important are these things at time of war? Less? Or more? Which takes precedence? Why? And who's to say? 60 years after the war is probably a good time to ask these questions. Not ancient enough that everyone that was there are dead and not recent enough that it still hurts (badly).
The dinner conversation that ended abruptly with the diners comparing Kamikaze pilots and modern-day suicide bombers was a particularly good call by the filmmakers.
The dinner conversation that ended abruptly with the diners comparing Kamikaze pilots and modern-day suicide bombers was a particularly good call by the filmmakers.