Jolie's 'Unbroken' slammed in Japan

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Dec 10 2014 | 3:55 PM IST
Angelina Jolie's biopic on Louis Zamperini has caused outrage in Japan with right-wing nationalists objecting to its depiction of the torture that the American Olympian endured in the country's prison camp during World War II.
The film depicts Zamperini's beatings at the hands of an Imperial officer named Mutsuhiro Watanabe, which is played by Japanese Pop star Miyavi, reported The Telegraph.
The torture sequence in the film are taken from Laura Hillenbrand's biography of the same name, which is based on Zamperini's own account.
The right-wing leaders claim Zamperini's account of his torture was never verified and commentators on social media have blamed Jolie of "racial discrimination" and asked the government to ban her from entering the country in future.
"It's pure fabrication. If there is no verification of the things he said, then anyone can make such claims. This movie has no credibility and is immoral," said Hiromichi Moteki, the Secretary General of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact.
Miyavi, who plays Mutushiro, said he was disturbed by the experience of filming those torture scenes.
"It was awful torture for me to hate the other actors. I had to have hatred for them. When I had to beat them, I had to think about protecting my family.
"At the same time, I didn't want to be just a bad guy. I wanted to put humanity in this role. Mutushiro was both crazy and sadistic, but also weak and traumatized," Miyavi said.
Zamperini died in July. He was a crew member on a warplane which crashed in the Pacific in May 1943. He was in the prison camp till August 1945.
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First Published: Dec 10 2014 | 3:55 PM IST

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