Start the week with a film: ‘Godzilla Minus One’ has thrills plus heart
Takashi Yamazaki’s Oscar-winning monster movie is finally available in India.
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One of the sweetest moments at this year’s Oscars was when Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One won the visual effects award. Yamazaki and his jubilant team all trooped to the stage clutching Godzilla toys.
The film has been a source of wonderment since it was released in the United States in December 2023. Made for under $15 million – as much as is spent on a single extended-action scene in Hollywood – Godzilla Minus One won hearts and wallets for its low-budget, high-impact storytelling.
Minus One was never released in Indian cinemas because of complicated licensing deals between Japan, where the Godzilla franchise originated, and the US, where the gigantic prehistoric lizard has spawned several films as well as crossovers with King Kong. Instead, we got its Hollywood cousin, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Yamazaki’s labour of love is now out on Netflix. The small screen does disservice to Yamazaki’s vision, but it will have to do.
Minus One is a throwback to the first Godzilla, directed by Ishiro Honda in 1954. Godzilla, or Gojira in Japanese, is a Frankensteinian product of World War II. Godzilla is an ancient, dinosaur-like underwater biped...
