Customer Reviews

Hiroshima Maiden [VHS]

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The summer of nineteen fifty-five is a very good year. America has been out of the war for a decade and suburbia is taking it by a storm. Little boys play cowboys and Indians but many play soldiers against the Japanese. All is well in this little suburban island of tranquility.

Yes, all is well until Johnathan, our young hero, has to deal with a Japanese girl who comes to live with his family as she faces plastic surgery to repair her face from the effects of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Her very presence touches the lives not only of Johnathan's family but the community.

Watch Johnathan as he attempts to solidify his friendship with his friends and deal with their prejudices. See his father's motivations be questioned by his wife as she asks is it "fair" to have the girl their for his own cause against the prejudices of his neighbors.

Hiroshima Maiden forces us to deal with the nature of prejudice and its impact on children as well as adults. All to often, adults are just as prejudiced as children in using others for their own motivations no matter how noble they seem. The young actress portraying the scarred Japanese teenager gives a sensitive and heartening performance. You feel her embarrassment of being disfigured and being seen as the outsider. Her inner spiritual strength comes through as she copes with this American family.

Johnathan, our hero, is a boy who for awhile is pressured by his peer group to go along with them in keeping an eye on the Japanese spy. After living with his guest he begins to move beyond his prejudices and see her for the person that she is. And the parents? They are another story. See what they decide in this wonderful film of respect, reconciliation and Love.

Hiroshima Maiden tells of the first days of a Japanese girl in America. The girl (Tamlyn Tomita) has been scarred by the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. She is in the US for plastic surgery and is staying with an American family until she is ready to undergo her surgeries. The film centers around the impact of Tomita's charecter on the family she is staying with and also the neighborhood in which they live. The charecters are well developed and extremely believeable. Tomita is exceptional as a young girl, scarred in war and facing hostility in her own country and America. One scene of the family and Tomita on a picnic in the park is particularly significant as it shows the reaction of Americans outside of the immediate family. Hiroshima Maiden is something of a coming of age film for the young male lead. He has to make choices that may not and do not make him popular with his buddies and other parents. His adjustment to the visitor to his home rings true as he moves from hostility and suspicion to understanding and friendship with Tomita's charecter. The film ends with Tomita's character leaving for her surgery. One gets the impression that over time the family looses touch with her as the young boy mentions he used to get cards from her. What finally happened to her? Did she return to Japan and become one of the modern "untouchables" because she was an atomic survivor? I don't think the film needed to answer these questions but it should make the viewer think a bit about what they are seeing. I was living in Connecticut at the time of this story. Coincidentally the US Navy was training Japanese officers and Sailors to operate surplus US submarines. At the same time we were trying to repair some of the damage done with atomic weapons, we were also recognizing that it was in our interests to assist Japan in creating navy under the title of maritime self-defense force. I find this a little ironic in looking back. Overall,this is a very well crafted film dealing with a topic that is still resonating in this country as well as Japan. Maybe it is time for a revival of this film since it was first released more than 15 years ago.

Please issue a DVD version, please! We and much of the country are phasing out VHS but this is an important movie.