Next year will see the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima Daichi nuclear disaster in eastern Japan. An offshore earthquake and resulting tsunami combined to cause a lost of coolant at the plant, which was followed by a meltdown and Chernobyl-level release of radioactive material into the air. More than 150,000 residents had to evacuate the area, but only a few died as a direct result of the contamination. Cleanup of the affected area is expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Based on Ryûshô Kadota’s book On the Brink, Fukushima 50 is the first big-budget film to tell the story of the dozens of workers who stayed behind to deal with the evolving crisis. The movie opens on 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011—when the earthquake began—and follows the workers for the next 5 days. The timestamps on the screen highlight how quickly things went from bad to worse.
The film represents a reunion for Shizumanu taiyô director Setsurô Wakamatsu and writer Yoichi Maekawa. The cast features Kôichi Satô (Yuki ni negau koto), Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai), and Hidetaka Yoshioka (Always san-chôme no yûhi), and Kadokawa is the production company.
Since its March 6 release in Japan, the movie has grossed nearly $7.5 million worldwide. Fukushima 50 is also part of the ongoing Japan Cuts virtual film festival, the largest North American celebration of contemporary Japanese movies.
No word yet on a wider international release.
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