Land of Hope (4 Stars)

This is a film that could never have been made in America or Europe. In fact, only Sion Sono could write and direct a film about a nuclear power plant disaster in this way. Anybody else would concentrate on nuclear power issues and fill the film with anti-nuclear propaganda. There isn't a hint of it in this film. I'm sure Sion has his opinions on the subject, but it's not his intention to talk about them. He's only interested in showing how people react in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster.

First the facts: on March 11th 2011 the eastern coast of Japan was hit by a tsunami following an underwater earthquake. This led to the meltdown of six reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Now the fiction: at an unspecified date a few years after the Fukushima disaster history repeats itself in western Japan. There are frequent references to Fukushima, since the people in the district compare their situation to what was done in Fukushima, asking if the government has learnt from it.

Yasuhiko is a farmer on the island of Nagashima, which is also the name of the island's only town. He runs the farm with his wife Chieko, his son Yoichi and Yoichi's wife Izumi. Chieko is suffering from Alzheimer's, but she is still able to work. When the island's nuclear power plant is damaged by the tsunami the government cordons off the area in a 20 kilometre radius around the plant and evacuates everyone in the area to the mainland. The cordon runs through the middle of Yasuhiko's road, so his friends from across the road are evacuated, but he's told that his side of the road is safe. The evacuees are put into crowded shelters. Yoichi and Izumi have a small house on the mainland, so they move voluntarily. Yasuhiko and Chieko remain behind to look after their farm.

A month later the government decide that the radiation has spread further and say that the whole island should be evacuated. Yasuhiko refuses to leave, even when he sees that the flowers are beginning to die. The ones that die first are the ones with the deepest roots. This mirrors the relationship between people and the land they live on.

The film is less violent than Sion Sono's other films, but we see the same elements of madness under duress. The most normal of people can be pushed over the brink of madness under extreme situations. Some people take the easy way out by denying there is any danger, while others fall into irrational paranoia. This is a fascinating character study that I can recommend to my readers. In many ways the film is similar to "Himizu". The difference is that "Himizu" deals with the results of the 2011 tsunami on the life of one boy, whereas "Land of Hope" shows the results of a tsunami on a whole community.