Movielogr
Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005)
Directed by Shinji Higuchi, Cellin Gluck
Twitter Facebook Google+War | Science Fiction | Thriller
Overview
A drama set during World War II where a submarine carrying a secret weapon attempts to stop a planned third atomic bombing of Japan. Based on Harutoshi Fukui’s novel Shuusen no Lorelei.
Length 128 minutes
Actors
Koji Yakusho | Satoshi Tsumabuki | Yuu Kashii | Shinichi Tsutsumi | Toshirō Yanagiba | Ken Ishiguro | Colter Allison | David Austin | Takaya Kamikawa | Shugo Oshinari | Jun Kunimura | Isao Hashizume | Masatō Ibu | Takehiko Ono | Ryuta Sato | Pierre Taki | Shingo Tsurumi | Sawako Agawa | Makoto Awane | Hajime Inoue | Yuji Yoshimasu | Hiroshi Ôkôchi | Masahiro Noguchi | KREVA | Tyrone Power Jr. | Gordon Wells | Yoshiyuki Tomino
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/25/2021 | TV | Broadcast | TV | 5.5 stars |
| (Average) 5.5 stars |
Viewing Notes
Overwrought “what if…” scenario in the final week of WWII w/a science fiction slant. I do like the premise but wish Higuchi was reeled in a bit more to tighten up the film to emphasize the thriller aspect more. Like trim a solid 20 minutes of unnecessary drama particularly all the war room stuff back at the Diet in Tokyo and focus solely on this crew and the “witch” to keep up the intensity of the story.
This borrows a little from HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. The “witch” (revealed early in the movie) is a young woman Paula (Yuu Kashii in her first feature film) who has a symbiotic connection to the experimental submarine given to the Japanese from the Germans after the bombing of Hiroshima. The captain, Koji Yakusho, is given the mission to prevent a third bomb from being dropped on Tokyo. Paula the witch has the ability to allow the submarine from being detected and evading the US Navy battleships. I think? She looks and sort of acts like Rei from Evangelion. Wish they had done more to explore this.
Much of the digital FX are dated and look a little cartoonish but I don’t hold that against the film. This was part of the Shinji Higuchi birthday marathon on DKUTV. I would give this one another spin if it were available on Blu-ray.
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