Imagine if you will a world in which Japan never lost the Second World War.  That, instead of provoking the Americans by attacking Pearl Harbor, they instead sided with them against Nazi Germany.  As a result imagine a East Asian where Japan never had to relinquish its colonial territories  – where Korea and what is now the Chinese province of Manchuria were instead prosperous provinces of (Greater) Japan and indeed the Japanese Empire, and presumably its East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere never really disintegrated but, presumably like all the other Western empires in the 20th century instead evolved or rather devolved into a less malignant economic association a la the British Commonwealth.  Given the general push towards self-determination and democratization in the mid and latter years of the 20th century, this is not too far fetched an assumption to make.

Imagine also that the WW2 ended earlier, the Cold War was truncated because Russia never came to as much power, presumably Communist Chinese never came to power saving the great tradegies of Mao’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution campaigns – that Hong Kong reverted to Nationalist China and the Korean War and presumably the Vietnam War (that is America vs. Vietnam part of it) never happened.

Would this have been a better reality a better world to live in?  Arguably for the Chinese and Japanese yes, in this scenario for the what is now the South Korean part of Korea probably not and for North Koreans, well it’s a bit of a wash.

What If scenarios is the great stuff of Science Fiction from Asimov to Turtledove and all the goofy alternate history episodes of Star Trek in between.  The recent DVD release of Korean movie 2009: Lost Memories hits many, though not all of the right notes.  Similar to alternate history buffs that asks what the world would look like if Franz Ferdinand would have been saved the assasin’s bullet from Serbian nationalists back in 1914, 2009: Lost Memories posits a very different East Asia had a certain Japanese Prime Minister and power broker called Ito Hirobumi not fallen prey to the bullet of a Korean nationalist’s in 1914.  The result is a world described above.

2009: Lost Memories contains an amazing premise that raises a some interesting questions on nationalism and the examination of naturalized citizens of a foreign country.

Most of these issues are surfaced by exploring the evolving relationship between the two main characters, Sakamoto, an ethnic Korean but inspector of the Japanese Bureau of Investigation (JBI) and his partner, an ethnic Japanese.  Sakamoto and Saigo are the Obi-wan and Anakin on this film, buddies since their early days at the JBI academy, Sakamoto was instrumental in Saigo’s successful courtship and marriage.  Sakamoto and Saigo, despite being of different races are basically brothers. Saigo at one point in the film even says to Sakamoto "I don’t think of you as Korean, we are both Japanese."

What I find remarkable is how the issue of race out of no where burns its way to the forefront of the movie.  At the beginning its practically a non-issue – the bad guys are "terrorists" who have taken an exhibit hall and all its people hostage and the good guys are Sakamoto, Saigo and all the rest of the hard-working JBI crew who labor to end the terrorist threat.  However, slowly at first but inexorably and then rather obviously at the end, the race becomes the central issue of the movie which ultimately devolves into a "Clash of Civilizations" between the patriotic "Korean freedom fighters" striving to right a wrong in history and free their land the yoke of the oppresive Japanese including all the JBI crew which ultimately are portrayed as a Japanese version of the SS.

That this evolution of events would ultimately pit Sakamoto against the JBL and like Obi-wan and Anakin, pit Sakamoto and Saigo against each other seems inevitable and the natural course of the movie.  Where I find the biggest problem with the film is how this emerging conflict of race vs. race, brother against brother is handled.

Simply put 2009 is a Korean film written and targetted for the domestic consumption.  While I have not doubt this was a correct decision to make to ensure domestic box office success (but perhaps crimping international success) this decision ultimately leads to the greatest disappointment in the film.  Unlike say John Woo’s Face Off where the film makers maintain the ambiguity between the two opposing forces, I was very dissappointed in 2009 the Japs quickly devolve into cardboard villians, killing innocent children in cold-blood and basically ruthlessly going around putting bullet holes into anybody that remotely resembles a Korean freedom fighter.  Ultimately, and unsurprisingly, climaxing in a deadly standoff between Sakamoto and Saigo, the former best friends championing the mutually exclusive goals of their respective peoples.

Regretably the filmmaker draws the rather ugly xenophobic conclusion that friendships cannot hold across racial lines, that at the end of the day, we need to stick with "our own" people because those are only ones that an be trusted.  I can’t help thinking that if the two principles were caucasian and african-american and set in North America, 2009: Lost Memories would surely be held up as propaganda film for segregationists and neo-nazi’s and consequently be duly lambasted by the various "liberal" groups.

To get on a my little Internet Soapbox for a second, I’m a little disturbed by the increasing nationalist and jingoist undertones coming out of East Asia as of late, particularly directed at the Japanese.  This Korean adolescent fantasy being one of them.  True the Japanese commited horrendous atrocities during the second world war and that some of them, to this day, refuse to acknowledge them is egregious.  However, the last thing we really need to do is to raise a generation unable to forgive the sins of the past.

2009: Lost Memories marries a daring and provacative premise with the best elements of John Woo  cinema: over-the-top gun battles and the fraying and ultimately loss of brotherhood.  Though the latter two elements don’t individually hit top marks they are quite acceptable for and, similar to the original Matrix movie,  when coupled with the unique premise, and excellent narrative structure really make this movie stand out.  Sadly, the very dissappointing and I dare say cowardly third act and rather ugly messages the movie sends ultimately destroys much value of the film.  Points for provacativeness major demerits for lack of follow through.

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