Library Wars
Director: Shinsuke
Sato
Year: 2013
Rating:
7.0
"A nation that burns books will one day burn
men"
This is an incredibly farfetched idea. Who
could think such a thing could happen in a civilized society where freedom
of speech and ideas are so revered. That groups of people would gather to
ban or burn books. At least we know that can't happen here. Deleting history
and ideas that some find offensive. People who ban/burn books are always
the bad guys. That is what Hitler and Stalin did. And religious fanatics.
History never treats them well. This Japanese film is based on a series of
books written by Hiro Arikawa that became a Manga then an anime and here
a live film. There was a sequel in 2015. Both were directed by Shinsuke Sato
(Princess Blade, Gantz). This was a big hit. And I would say deservedly so.
It mixes drama, action and a wallop of just right amount of sentiment in
a way that only the Japanese can without making it corny.
Right wing zealots have set up an organization
called Media Betterment Force who have the government of their side and they
think it is their duty to tell people what they can read. Save them from
sin. Anything not approved is burnt. They go into bookstores and libraries
confiscating any book they find objectionable. In one instance, they machine-gunned
down everyone in a library. After that atrocity a counter force was formed,
the Library Defense Force, who protect libraries from the MBF. With guns.
There are rules. They cannot go beyond protecting libraries. Over time most
of the bookstores go out of business and books can only be read in libraries.
Before that though a teenager named Kasahara (Nana Eikura) is in a bookstore
when the MBF comes in and starts ripping the books off the shelf and grabs
the one in her hand that she refuses to let go of. A member of the Defense
Force comes in and knocks the MBF around and gives her the book. "You saved
one book from the bonfire".
She doesn't really see him silhouetted against
the sun but remembers how he patted her on the head. A few years later she
joins the LDF partly to protect books but also to identify who the man was.
He is a hero to her. There are various small confrontations between the forces
and then near the end a huge action firefight bonanza. The actress who plays
Kasahara is very cute and charming with a lot of gumption. With her short
hair she reminds me of the actress in the Princess Blade. The wonderful Chiaki
Kuriyama (Kill Bill, Battle Royale) plays a friend to Kasahara and her drill
master is played by Jun'ichi Okada, who is both a J-Pop singer and a martial
arts instructor. You won't see many of those.
Again, this is pure make believe - no one
in America would ban books such as The Catcher in the Rye, Charlotte's Web,
Grapes of Wrath, The Handmaid's Tale, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Tale,
The Hill We Climb (by Amanda Gorman), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya
Angelou), The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison), The Kite Runner, Leaves of Grass
(by Walt Whitman), Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Wrinkle in Time
and Gone with the Wind. Or so we once thought.
