If
you still think Donald Trump is unlikely presidential stock, you might be
right, but at the time Harry S. Truman succeeded FDR, he inspired even less
confidence. Most of the country considered him a hack from Boss Pendergast’s
machine, because he was. Yet, he stepped up and made difficult decisions at the
most crucial juncture of the Twentieth Century. In the tradition of Tora! Tora! Tora!, Canadian director
Roger Spottiswoode and Japanese filmmaker Koreyoshi Kurahara follow the War in
the Pacific from both sides in the three-hour miniseries Hiroshima (trailer
here),
which is now available on DVD, from Mill Creek Entertainment.
When
Eleanor Roosevelt breaks the bad news to Truman, she is clearly concerned for
him—and not without reason. FDR thought so little of his VP he kept him out of
all cabinet discussions of the war. One of the things Truman will quickly be brought
up to speed on will be the Manhattan Project, which is progressing smoothly,
despite the misgivings of scientists like Leo Szilard (played by Saul Rubinek
in a showy cameo).
In
early 1945, the war had clearly turned in America’s favor and against the
Japanese, but it was still bloody as Hell. Unfortunately, the military
authorities were firmly in command of the Japanese government and they were
hellbent on mounting an all-out to-the-last-man-woman-and-child defense of the
homeland rather than surrender. The Atomic Bomb was precisely what Truman
needed to prevent such a costly battle.
Frankly,
the Japanese scenes helmed by Kurahara (who trained to be a human landmine in expectation
of an American landing) are way more damning of Japanese militarism than the
American sequences (shot in Canada), which are more concerned with Truman’s
awkward elevation. Kurahara and Japanese screenwriter Toshirô Ishidô depict the
intransigence of the senior officers in terms that go beyond extremism,
approaching the stuff of a death cult. Clearly, they indict the militarists for
misunderstanding American resolve and marginalizing the Imperial faction, which
supported more proactive peace overtures.
These
passages are indeed the most eye-opening, especially including the efforts to
recruit Stalin to broker a peace deal, given Japan and the Soviets had their own
non-aggression treaty, much like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Like many recent
films, such Emperor and The Sun, Hiroshima offers a humanizing (perhaps an ironic choice of words) revisionist
portrait of Emperor Hirohito, which seems defensible in light of his
cooperation with the American occupation.
While
the Japanese half of the mini is a more interesting viewing experience, if you
appreciate intrigue and historical irony, the best performance by far comes
from Kenneth Welsh, who so embodies Truman it is almost spooky. It is probably
his most prestigious role and some of his best work, but he’ll always be Twin Peaks’ Windom Earle to us.
Yet,
arguably the historical figure getting the best PR in Hiroshima is Republican Secretary of War Henry Stimson, who
convinced Truman to remove the culturally significant ancient capital city of
Kyoto from the target list. As it happens, Stimson is played with steely
patrician dignity by the late Wesley Addy, who also appeared in Tora. On the Japanese side, Kôji
Takahashi (from Masahiro Shinoda’s classic Samurai Spy) brings out the heroic tragedy in hardline Gen. Korechika Anami,
up-staging better-known historical figures with his intensity.
