Thanks, Martin-B, that really clears it up. I assumed Jack had gone to prison (they make a big deal about his being in "a lot of trouble, solder!"), but it was a big lapse by Parker not tell us what happened to him (or even what year it was when he returned -- I assumed 1945, but couldn't be sure.)
As to a previous poster's comments about the film's authenticity or lack thereof, I thought its handling of the Japanese-American internment was very well done from the point of view of historical accuracy. Many of the details of camp life at Manzanar that the movie protrayed (the lack of toilet stalls for the women, the factions among the internees, the baseball games and big band dances) all figure prominently in memoirs from former internees.
The bigger picture stuff -- exec order #6099 (I think), the supereme court ruling on the camps, the notorious loyalty oath) is also handled in what I believe is an historically accurate fashion. Parker and his scriptwriter really did their homework for this film, whatever its narrative shortcomings.
One last poseter-related kvetch -- yes, by the 1940s unions had been legal for several decades (Jack at one point even cites a law passed in 1915 or something like that) but in the 1930s union activism was still a violent and dangerous world. There was also a considerable amount of labor unrest in the U.S. DURING World War II, a fact conveniently glossed over by glorifiers of the "greatest generation." An AWOL soldier with a known record of labor agitation and violent organizing activities would certainly have been of interest to the FBI, even in 1942-43.
-------------------------------------------------
I don't rattle, kid. But just for that I'm gonna beat you flat.
reply
share
bertrambunter
16 years ago
The various plot holes and missing information are simply, I feel, a symptom of the basic anti-americanism of the average european movie director, i.e. in this case, the only thing that matters is getting over to the audience how badly the Japanese were treated during WWII by racist Americans - people are left to draw their own conclusions about anything else. Alan Parker's a very nice guy if a litle naive, but he tends to be blinded by his obssessive need to point out and highlight every mis-step the American government has ever made, and they have made plenty so he's got a lot to choose from.
Americans are pretty much de-humanised in this movie, which is fair enough, as it is approached totally from a pro-japanese bias. And yes, many of the japanese americans involved did suffer loss and deprivation - however, it is a fact that, contrary to what Parker asserts, the Banzai/Nisei back to Japan movement had started in the US long before WWII, and was very popular among young Japanese men. The movement naturally and understandably gained strength in the camps, but was not begun there.
reply
share