Christopher Nolan's film on man who invented atomic bomb finally premieres in Japan

Oscar award winner and the most talked about film of the year ‘Oppenheimer’ released in Japan on March 29. The film remains a sensitive topic in the nation which faced the apocalyptic results of Oppenheimer’s invention- atomic bombs. After more than eight months of its US release, film’s release in Japan was being seen with a feeling of anxiety.

‘Oppenheimer’ and Japan

79 years ago, two cities of Japan were completely destroyed by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar winning film. Japanese moviegoers had mixed and highly emotional reaction to the film.
“Oppenheimer” does not directly depict what happened on the ground when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film instead focuses on Oppenheimer as a person and his internal conflicts.

Japanese Moviegoers reaction

Toshiyuki Mimaki, who survived the bombing of Hiroshima when he was 3, saw “Oppenheimer” at a preview event and said “During the whole movie, I was waiting and waiting for the Hiroshima bombing scene to come on, but it never did,”
“From Hiroshima's standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted,” former Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka was quoted as saying by Japanese media. “The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans,” he added.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of “Godzilla Minus One”, which won the Oscar for visual effects and is a powerful statement on nuclear catastrophe in its own way, suggested there needs to be to an answer from Japan to 'Oppenheimer'. In an online dialogue with ‘Oppenheimer’ director Christopher Nolan, Yamazaki said, “Someday, I would like to make that movie.” Nolan heartily agreed.

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