The Extremely Delayed Second Part to "At the Movies, 2013"....

I more or less never did come to a satisfactory conclusion on whether or not I liked "Eien no Zero".  The film has been criticized for its politically right leaning baggage that is quite plain to see.  That characteristic certainly didn't appeal to me.  But I found it interesting for a different reason.  It brought back to me a quote from the movie "Patton".  I believe in the first monologue of that movie the good general spouts this gem, "Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.  He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."  I don't have the energy right now to go to great lengths to explain the connection I formed between the two movies.  I suppose what I find interesting about "Eien no Zero" is how it inadvertently shows the tactical, strategic and behavioural flaws of Japan's military back in WWII.  The tragedy being that most of the audience don't seem to have recognized them in the movie.