The Forgotten Force

Apr 4, 1994

0h 56m

★ 6.0

Tells the story of Australia's role as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the occupation of Japan

Overview

After the atomic obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 36,000 Australian men and women, part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), marched onto Japanese soil. They were assigned the toughest and most dangerous area of Japan: Hiroshima Prefecture, which included the atom-bombed city. The Forgotten Force tells for the first time the story of Australia's role in Japan. Rare archival and private footage, photographs and eyewitness accounts from both sides vividly recreate the atmosphere of post-war Japan - the horror of Hiroshima and its aftermath; the struggle to build a new "democratic" society while under the heel of military rule; the growth from suspicion and fear to friendship and trust between foes.

Genres

Documentary

History

War

Production Companies

Film Australia

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Japan Foundation

The Forgotten Force Trailers

Cast

Narrator

Hugo Weaving

In 150 years, twice marked by total destruction —a terrible earthquake in 1923 and incendiary bombings in 1945— followed by a spectacular rebirth, Tokyo, the old city of Edo, has become the largest and most futuristic capital in the world in a transformation process fueled by the exceptional resilience of its inhabitants, and nourished by a unique phenomenon of cultural hybridization.

7.7

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Jun 10, 1959

The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple -- lovers turned friends -- recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.

8.6

The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga

Apr 2, 2019

Japan, 1954. A legend emerges from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastated by atomic bombs in 1945. The creature's name is Godzilla. The film that tells its story is the first of kaiju eiga, the giant monster movies.

7.7

Twice: The Extraordinary Life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Jan 5, 2010

Tsutomu Yamaguchi is a hibakusha. A survivor of both atomic bomb blasts in 1945. First at Hiroshima, then again at Nagasaki. Now nearing 90, Yamaguchi finally speaks out. Breaking taboos of shame and sorrow, he responds to a call to fight for a world without nuclear weapons by telling his story, so that no one else will ever have to tell one like it again. Twice reconstructs Yamaguchi’s experiences in 1945 Japan, interviews him on the after-effects of exposure and documents the last five years of the late-blooming activist’s life.

7.0

Hiroshima, the next day

Dec 1, 2011

No overview available.

7.1

Hiroshima

Aug 6, 2005

The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.

7.0

Three Stripes in the Sun

Nov 23, 1955

A racist sergeant stationed in post-war Japan finds himself softening towards the children and falling for a local woman.

7.2

Shadow of Fire

Nov 25, 2023

In the black market, a war orphan is confronted with the struggles of people living in the immediate aftermath of WWII.

8.3

Atomic People

Jun 13, 2024

Combining personal accounts with archive footage, this film features the voices of some of the only people left on earth to have survived a nuclear bomb.

6.0

History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess

Jun 3, 1970

Postwar Japan as it is described by Etsuko, the manager of a bar catering to foreigners in Yokosuka. The way of life of a woman brimming with vitality, who skipped the countryside right after the war and, with her womanhood as a weapon, lived through atomic bombings, black markets, prostitution aimed at American soldiers and the Korean War. Inserting newsreels, Shohei Imamura depicts the history of twenty-five years in the Japanese postwar by way of the female body. (doclisboa)

3.5

Girls in Summer Dresses: Hiroshima, August 6, 1945

Aug 7, 1988

In 1945, the second- and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the seventh of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb." (Source: Anime Encyclopedia)

0.0

Naval Port Child: Yokosuka Cleaning 1946

Aug 10, 2023

Post-war Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Adults who are swayed by the US military stationed in the country and swayed by US intentions cannot afford to care about children who should be protected. The war orphans, who had no choice but to survive on their own, were used to shining shoes for American soldiers, picking up cigarettes, and sometimes committing crimes. However, at some point, they came across a "cleaning" job. They work hard instead of committing crimes and earn money by being appreciated by people. The orphans begin to regain their smiles through experiences that make them feel like they should be alive. The children started to have a modest dream of "renting a house and living" with their own earnings, but they were attacked by an even harsher reality...

5.0

Pride

May 23, 1998

Based on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East of 1946–48, depicts Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo as a family man who fought to defend Japan and Asia from western colonialism but was ultimately hanged by a vengeful United States.

6.5

The Beginning or the End

Feb 19, 1947

The research, development, and deployment of the first atomic bomb, as well as the bombing of Hiroshima, are detailed in this docudrama.

7.1

The Thick-Walled Room

Oct 31, 1956

A group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.

7.8

Hiroshima: The Aftermath

Jun 6, 2015

Brand new documentary marking the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings which ended WWII and began the nuclear age. Features interviews with survivors from both sides.

7.7

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb

Jul 9, 2023

Explore how one man's relentless drive and invention of the atomic bomb changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria.

7.9

In This Corner of the World

Nov 12, 2016

Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…

The Forgotten Force

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Forgotten Force Trailers