Directed By: Stephen Wallace Starring: Bryan Brown, George Takei, Sokyu Fujita, Terry O'Quinn
As courtroom dramas go, this one's pretty good. And it's got a few twists. For starters, it's court-martial drama. It's set in 1946 at the Australian War Crimes Tribunal during which Japanese officers and soldiers were accused of war crimes against Australian POWs held at the Tan Tai POW camp on Ambon Island in Indonesia. Thus, this courtroom is a thatched island hut and its participants are all fairly remote from the average American's common store of knowledge. Brown plays the Australian prosecutor on a mission to avenge the deaths of over 300 Australian POWs found buried in a mass grave on the island. Only problem is that he's got no solid proof or surviving witnesses. The trial is also made more difficult by the worlds of difference between the Australian and the Japanese ways of doing things: the legal precepts, the moral codes, the conduct of honor. Then, as an American viewer, add another level of distance due to the unfamiliarity of the subject matter and the frequent inscrutability of both the Japanese and Australian methods of doing things. Yet, that's part of what makes Prisoners of the Sun interesting (at least on these shores) - its overall uncommonness. I don't know how this plays in Australia, the land of its origin, but here, at least, it's fairly exotic and enlightening. Courtroom drama has never been one of my favorite film forms (it's generally too static and talky). But this one is driven and focused and well-paced. Brown is commanding as the prosecuting attorney doing his best to see justice done. Prisoners of the Sun is an informative and intriguing examination of war crimes and subsequent resolutions and the differences in national priorities.
Antichrist Lars von Trier lives to affront again. Chaos, indeed, reigns. - Marc Savlov The Blind Side John Lee Hancock, director of The Rookie, scores with another sports drama, this time concerning a true football story. - Kimberley Jones Fantastic Mr. Fox Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Messenger Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster play two members of the military's casualty notification team, which delivers bad news to soldiers' next of kin. - Marjorie Baumgarten Ninja Assassin Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten Old Dogs Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Much like the title character Precious, this rough-hewn movie overcomes the unlikely odds for its success. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Road Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Twilight Saga: New Moon Edward and Bella are back for more thwarted young vampiric love. - Marjorie Baumgarten Until the Light Takes Us This music documentary chronicles the history, ideology, and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal. - Raoul Hernandez
