For Those We Love (俺は、君のためにこそ死ににいく) 17 years old

In 1943, as Japan's WWII effort falters, a vice-admiral proposes training squadrons of "volunteer" flyers to crash their armed planes into Allied warships. Yarn follows the lives of kamikaze pilots, as remembered by an aging Kyushu restaurateur who cherishes their memory. Honoring the dead and multiple military anthems may stir the soul of some Japanese, but elsewhere auds will make a one-way trip for exits. Battle scenes are well-executed and script delivers some memorable scenes, but overall competent helming and thesping are powerless over writer-cum-Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishiara's repetitive storytelling. A post-war postscript adds considerable length to an already over-extended narrative. Tech credits are good quality.

Credits

Satoshi Tokushige as Kapitän Nakanishi

Mikako Tabe as Reiko Torihama

Masatō Ibu as Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi

Yōsuke Kubozuka as Leutnant Bando

Keiko Kishi as Tome Torihama

Toru Emori as 田端由蔵

For Those We Love Cast

Name	Character
Satoshi Tokushige He was 28, 0 years old when he died	as Kapitän Nakanishi
Mikako Tabe She was 18, now 35 years old	as Reiko Torihama
Masatō Ibu He was 58, now 75 years old	as Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi
Yōsuke Kubozuka He was 28, now 45 years old	as Leutnant Bando
Keiko Kishi She was 74, now 92 years old	as Tome Torihama
Toru Emori He was 63, now 80 years old	as 田端由蔵
Yasuyuki Maekawa He was 33, now 51 years old	as Kaneyama
Michitaka Tsutsui He was 36, now 53 years old	as Leutnant Tabata

For Those We Love Crew

Name	Department
Shōji Ueda as Cinematography. Shōji Ueda was 94 (87) years old when Shōji Ueda died	Crew
Taku Shinjo as Director.	Directing
Shintaro Ishihara as Executive Producer. Shintaro Ishihara was 74 (now 92) years old	Production
Shintaro Ishihara as Writer. Shintaro Ishihara was 74 (now 92) years old	Writing
Hidetaka Ozawa as Art Direction.	Art

For Those We Love (17 years)

Release day: Saturday, May 12, 2007
Runtime: 135 minutes