‘G-1’: A movie review

“Godzilla Minus One” is not a typical Japanese Giant Monster (“Kaiju”) flick. It is nothing less than proof that today’s movies can still be great.

“G - 1” features genuinely sympathetic, adult characters who are struggling for more than survival. They each strive for redemption, both for themselves and for all that is positive in their Japanese culture.

As they scrounge for scraps in the fire-bombed ruins of post-war Tokyo, each character is faced with the existential guilt that every survivor of deadly events must face. They must determine why they lived when so many others died, and what they might do to make the rest of their traumatized lives worth living.

The struggles of these characters are certainly fixed in late-1940s Japan, but their travails are universal. Every one of us in our own way encounters death, despair and trauma which echo through our minds and lives. Their journeys are inspiring.

Yes, the movie features the implacable personification of mega-death that is Godzilla. Indeed, the sheer horror that this radioactive spawn of retributive nature and man’s folly is palpable. This is not a film for small children.

The one glaring inaccuracy is how they sidelined Gen. MacArthur and U.S. Occupation forces. The film clearly did this to give the Japanese characters center stage.

“G - 1” is a film for anyone who wants to be thrilled, terrified, moved to tears, and sublimely entertained. It is thought-provoking, and there is not a hint of Wokeness. Most of all, it’s fun.

RALPH K. GINORIO

Coeur d’Alene