- More information on the film can be found here: http://www.onlythebravemovie.com/index.php. Here's an excerpt from the section titled "The Story": In 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, there were 5,000 Japanese Americans serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Overnight, these second-generation citizens were stripped of their official duties - simply because they looked like the enemy. On the mainland, 120,000 innocent men, women and children were rounded up and swept into remote internment camps, where they would remain behind barbed wire for the duration of the war. Determined to prove their loyalty, the discharged Hawaiian Territorial Guardsmen of Japanese descent successfully petitioned the U.S.
government to allow them to serve. These 1400 Hawaiian Nisei (second-generation Japanese-Americans) became the 100th Infantry Battalion. I July 1943, after rigorous training, they were sent to North Africa, then Italy. Fiercely courageous, they suffered so many casualties the 100th was soon dubbed the "Purple Heart Battalion."
- The screening is being hosted as part of the American Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities 19th annual Japan Studies Institute. The Japan Studies Institute, which is part of the National Faculty Development Institute offered by AASCU, allows faculty to learn from scholars, business leaders, artists and journalists about Japanese civilization, history, language, business and education. The institute involves three weeks of intensive seminars, lectures, readings, films and cultural activities related to Japanese history, culture, literature, government, business, language and education. While modern Japan serves as the focus for the program, participants are provided with a firm foundation in the pre-modern history and culture of Japan. For more information on the institute, please visit http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~japanese.
- From the home page of the film, critics have said:
"A good, powerful, haunting feature...It's way overdue." - Honolulu Star-Bulletin
"A gripping story...More poignant than the typical war story." - Denver Film Society
Additionally, the film has been the official selection at the Santa Fe Film Festival, Starz Denver International Film Festival, Austin Asian Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, and the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
If you'd like a quote from someone at the university, I can contact Japan Studies Institute and Japanese language professor Yoshiko Higurashi. Just let me know.
- For images, feel free to link to the trailer: http://onlythebravemovie.com/_movies/OTB_Trailer_v7-lg.mov.
There's also the YouTube version (I had a little trouble loading it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT-IVY81TTQ
And you can copy and paste any of the images referenced on the attached PDF document.
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