The best horror or monster films as of late are the ones with some sort of meaning, be they political or social. I say this mostly because those particular films tend to resonate more for me. Maybe it's my affinity for history or my addiction to the news but if those films carry a theme that is universal and yet depict a culture specific issue I tend to connect with those more. In the case of Gojira (the original Japanese without Raymond Burr) we get a post World War 2 Japan and more importantly a post Hiroshima, Nagasaki Japan whose trauma is represented in the form of a mysterious monster. It turns out that this monster has been around for generations and revered by locals through traditional sacrifice rituals which with time have been mostly forgotten and have been diluted into a simple dance. Is this another way of saying that the modern post war Japan has forgotten its identity? Or is Gojira a representation of Japan, the Empire now transformed into a post nuclear holocaust. It may seem like I'm really pushing it in terms of film theory especially since most people will flock to this film simply to watch Godzilla destroy Japan. However, the film does not hide from its supposed underlying message as posed by a monologue at the end of the film about Nuclear testing. Regardless, I enjoyed the film just as much for its rubber suit wearing actor who gets to trash toy houses and toy vehicles. Although I wish the night scenes weren't so dark.
Godzilla
(1954)
A rubber suit, toy cars and a nuclear Japan in a nutshell
27 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers