Revisionist History Revolting to America

Rating: 5/10 (27 May 2001)

The background plot is interesting, if not somewhat predictable. The characters are captivating. Many scenes evoke heartfelt emotions. The special effects are mesmerizing. However, the film revises history that insults America and the rest of the world.
A Japanese naval officer, to motivate the Pearl Harbor sneak attack, says `America has cutoff our oil ... we have only eighteen months supply.' The deceptive impression that the United States spontaneously and without justification tried to starve Japan is insulting.
Japan's vicious war of aggression in Asia began years before the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. The horrific Japanese rape of Nanking occurred in 1937. In response to the 1940 Japanese invasion of Indochina, the United States embargoed oil sales to Japan. Preventing further conflict by reducing an aggressor's war supply is a noble act.
The `18 month oil supply' referenced in the film was the JAPANESE NAVY'S oil supply - if Japan stopped its oil-guzzling conquest of Asia, they would have years of oil. Innocent Japanese civilians would not be starved by the embargo; only their military would be forced to reduce their slaughter.
The film Pearl Harbor revises history to denigrate America and should be boycotted.