Mar 4, 2021
The earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster of March 11, 2011, have generated dozens of films, fiction and nonfiction, from nearly every conceivable angle. The only other historical event in the modern era covered so thoroughly by Japanese filmmakers is World War II.
One difference is that, unlike the many war films that sentimentalize and idealize their heroes (those glorifying the
tokkо̄tai suicide pilots being prominent examples), films about March 11 have, by and large, tried to be honest, even when it means showing victims in a less-than-positive light.
Some of the filmmakers have spent years getting to know their subjects, enabling them to bring a welcome depth and insight to their stories. While this mostly applies to makers of documentaries, many directors of fiction films have also been forthright and unsparing, doing their own legwork rather than relying on a bestselling novel or other presold property for inspiration the
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alone Again in Fukushima: A documentary screening and conversation
This spring will mark the tenth anniversary of the triple disaster that on March 11, 2011, brought an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear meltdown to eastern Japan. To reflect on this anniversary, we present Alone Again in Fukushima, a documentary about Matsumura Naoto, a man who chose to remain behind when his hometown was evacuated along with the rest of the area around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This is the second documentary that filmmaker Nakamura Mayu has made to profile Matsumura’s life in the nuclear zone. While the first film documented Mr. Matsumura’s solitary life with a variety of animals from cats and dogs to livestock, this sequel explores how things have changed (or not) in Mr. Matsumura’s hometown over the course of eight years since the disaster as some residents have begun return.