Godzilla comes back to Japan, in ways fresh and familiar

Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. We noted four ways the new film Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, breaks from its past, and other ways it is reassuringly familiar. It’s now showing in theatres in Japan, will open in Hong Kong on August 25 and the US and other countries later this year.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT

The Americans: Japan’s most important ally sends scientists and other advisers, their participation depicted at times as a nuisance. A Japanese-American special envoy, played by Satomi Ishihara, asks where the nearest Zara store is, but mainly mediates between Japan and the US, which is worried Godzilla might reach its shores. She resists a US proposal to nuke Godzilla. “Is Japan going to have the atomic bomb dropped for the third time?” she asks mournfully. Given that the 2014 Hollywood Godzilla helped Toho film studio decide to revive the series it originated, the US has proved a true ally for Godzilla’s silver-screen survival.

The man behind the monster: Godzilla is not a man wearing a rubber suit, like in the 1954 original. Toho used motion-capture technology based on the movements of Mansai Nomura, an actor in traditional Kyogen theatre whose casting was a secret until opening day. The centre of gravity is kept low during Kyogen moves, similar to Noh dance, except that Kyogen specialises in comedy. Nomura says he was honoured to be chosen for the role, stressing that he hoped to communicate the spiritual and the ghostly in Godzilla. “I am thrilled that the DNA of Kyogen, which has more than 650 years of history, will now be part of the DNA of the pride of Japanese cinema – that life called Godzilla,” he says.

The 2011 Fukushima disaster: Godzilla is no longer a result of nuclear testing. Instead, the monster recalls the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit northeastern Japan. In the film, people measure the radiation around them and share information on social media, as they did five years ago. News conferences and meetings are filled with confusion and jargon, and government officials on screen even use the same word that was used to describe how unprepared Japan had been for the tsunami, “soteigai,” or “beyond expectations.” Scenes of people fleeing from torrents of water, and later huddled in gymnasiums, bring back heartbreaking memories of the 2011 disaster.