White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007) User Reviews

impressing and necessary

[dromasca · 9/10 · 30 December 2009]

When I visited Hiroshima less than two months ago I thought that I knew quite a lot about the the events at the end of the second world war in the Pacific including the atomic bombs that were dropped upon Japan in order to reach a faster end of the war. Nothing was however comparable with seeing the destruction of Hiroshima at first hand in the Peace Museum, as well as the impressing memorial monuments in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Now comes this documentary by American-born Steven Okazaki which complements the images and the information that I acquired during my visit in Japan.

Let me say that it's one of the best historical and investigative documentaries that I have seen in years, if not the best. There are many direct witnesses that present the two sides of the event - the Japanese survivors of the atomic bombardments in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who were most of them kids in 1945 and who carried for the rest of their lives the physical pain in their flesh and the psychological traumas in their souls, and the American crewmen who seem to have gained awareness about the dimensions of the event they participated in, but show almost no trace of guilt or remorse for their actions. Some of the pictures taken immediately after the bombing which some of them - it is said in the film - are being seen for the first time in public are shocking and succeed to convey the intensity and dimensions of the destruction and sufferings that were inflicted on the civilian population of the two bombed cities.

Yet, it is the opening sequence that impressed me the most. It is filmed today, in some big city of Japan. Young Japanese folks in the teens or twenties are asked 'what historical event happened on August 6, 1945'. None of them knows the answer! Such films as 'White light, Black Rain' can help however bring down completely the walls of silence that still exist.

A powerful documentary

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 8/10 · 27 December 2021]

Incredibly graphic and confronting, but it should be, effectively driving home how horrifying these nuclear attacks were, and the enormous impact they had not just in 1945, but also in the ensuing decades.

It was a good choice to focus on the survivors. I feel like often in documentaries about tragedies, the survivor's stories aren't focused on as much, but here, I'd say at least 75% of the documentary is devoted to their experiences. Their stories are horrifying and have a great impact.

Living in a western country, there definitely seems to be more media and documentaries about other historical tragedies over this one (or these two, more accurately). Sometimes, you need a blunt, graphic, but respectful documentary like this to make a knowledge of the statistics of those who died more than just a number.

"What Have We Done?"

[view_and_review · 9/10 · 1 February 2022]

We are now roughly 80 years removed from WWII and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Very very few people are alive today that were alive back then, and even fewer still that had anything to do with WWII. I know the rationalization is that the U. S. had to do something to end the war, but it's just that: a rationalization.

"White Light/Black Rain" is a documentary with interviews and footage of survivors of the bombings that occurred on August 6th and 9th, 1945 (Hiroshima & Nagasaki). The "white light" was the intense light from the detonation of the bomb. The "black rain" was the radioactive wet ash that rained down afterwards.

There are also interviews of some of the American scientists and soldiers who were involved with the bombing-- each one doing his duty. Still, it's one of those things that after you've done it you ask, "What have we done?"

War is not for children.

[lastliberal · 10/10 · 6 August 2007]

The total estimated human loss of life caused by World War II, irrespective of political alignment, was roughly 72 million people. This figure includes military and civilian. It includes six million Jews exterminated by the Nazi, and it includes the over 200,000 who died on August 6th and 9th as the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

As one of the children born in Japan during its occupation after the war, I feel a special affinity for the country and its people. As one of those who are concerned about the fate of the world, I feel a special affinity for this film, as it shows the utter horror that can occur when we are relentless in our drive to develop new and more powerful weapons.

It can be argued that the number of deaths caused by the war would be much higher had these 200,000 not been sacrificed, but the larger concern is that we have 400,000 times the power today than that which was unleashed 62 years ago. That should concern every citizen in the World.

This was a moving and powerful documentary. The horrors shown were sometimes hard to stomach. They equal the most horrific horror films on the market today. The part most difficult to think about is that horror films are mostly for adult, but the horrors of these bombings were experienced by children as young as six.

To see your mother crumble to dust in front of you is a pain that is incomprehensible. It is so horrific that some children could not take it and ended their lives. To see children with horrific burns all over their bodies, in excruciating pain for many months, with no relief and wanting to die will touch the hardest hearts.

Many questioned if we were ready for a film like United 93 so soon after September 11th. This film took 62 years before it was decided we were ready. It would be a crime not to see it for yourself.

Powerful and heart wrenching documentary

[Jamrite · 10/10 · 8 August 2007]

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the world history is the beginning of the nuclear age. This documentary's poignant truth of victims' experience of the atomic bomb gives a real insight on what happened on both days. What is shown is beyond graphic and makes you wonder why this had to happen. Was it really justified to hurt all these people? Steven Okazaki and his crew interview these brave individuals who want people to know what happened and why it should never happen again.

I cried many times throughout this documentary because it was very edgy and thought provoking. The musical score really envelopes the message of this film. Sad waning of trumpets enlighten the souls that have passed on and memorializes what they stood for. I highly recommend this film. In my opinion though, it is not for the queasy or faint hearted. Bless all those who lost their lives in World War II and the many struggles around the world today!

Never again indeed

[david63 · 10/10 · 22 February 2009]

Well said, Dream_seeker. I saw this film when it originally aired on HBO and it affected me profoundly. I watched it again today for the second time and was just as moved. It is as gut-wrenching as any film I have ever seen, fiction or non-fiction. It will make any grown man cry, even a hardened one, as long as a heart beats within him. This is an astounding piece of film-making and should be required viewing for high school students all over the world.

{SPOILERS} Why? The common theme from every one of the survivors interviewed is the same: Never again. As another reviewer noted, George Santayana's observation that "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" couldn't be more apt here. Indeed, the first scenes of interviews of young Japanese persons on the street drive home this point right away as they reveal that they have indeed forgotten and are clueless about the all-too-recent history of their elders. The survivors and those who died as a result of the bombings suffered horrors that should be unimaginable, but were and are still all too real and painful. As one of the survivors noted, those emotionally and physically painful experiences should end with them. No human beings should ever have to face those horrors again.

This is mostly a Japanese production (just watch the credits). Despite the obvious temptation to do so, the Japanese filmmakers deserve tremendous credit for exercising grace and restraint by not engaging in historical revisionism or anti-Americanism. They ensure the viewer sees and hears the survivors of the atomic bombs almost universally placing blame for their cities being bombed at the feet of the Japanese government for starting the war and for keeping Japan in it long after all hope for victory was lost. Some even became activists to petition the Japanese government to own up to its role and grant them medical and other benefits.

The filmmakers are so even-handed as to allow the surviving crew members from the Enola Gay to express no regret for doing their duty, without making them appear callous or cold. The filmmakers also portray an officer from the crew warning young yahoos who might be hawkish about nukes today that "nuking" someone is something no one should ever have to do, or even contemplate ever doing again. There is a surreal bit from the 1950s television show "This Is Your Life" in which a captain from the Enola Gay appears and expresses regret and remorse to a kind Japanese reverend on a humanitarian mission for women disfigured by the atomic bombings. "My God, what have we done?" he tells the reverend and the TV audience he thought after the crew flew away from the flash, the mushroom cloud, and the devastated city below them.

One remarkable Japanese woman who was horribly disfigured by the bomb even shares that when she saw him on TV, she cried for the American captain from the Enola Gay because of the enormous guilt he obviously bore when he appeared on "This Is Your Life." I found it very moving and admirable that after everything she endured, that gentle woman still possessed the humanity, grace, and compassion to feel for one of the Americans who took part in causing all that death, despair, and destruction. She cried not for herself and her own painful experiences, but for him instead. Wow.

Despite all the sadness and horror portrayed in this film, there is a ray of light in the humanity and dignity the survivors display. They were each very brave to bare their tremendously personal and private pain in a film for public consumption, but none of them asked for pity, and none of them stood on a political soapbox. The only message they wanted to convey was simple and selfless. Never again. {END SPOILERS}

The filmmakers have made a film that not only is impossible to forget, but one which does the whole human race a public service as well. They have portrayed in a way as honest and unvarnished as possible just how horrific is the reality of the personal costs of using nuclear weapons. Let us hope we listen to the survivors and remember their cautionary tales. Never again.

"Burned fish on the grill...thats what they looked like" Haunting.

[TheRealMartian · 10/10 · 14 August 2007]

The film opens with a familiar scene of "man on the street" interviews of Japanese teens being asked if they can tell us what historical events occurred in Aug. 1945...every one of them looked puzzled and had not a single clue as to what the interviewer was alluding to.

The poignant irony of that scene both scares and haunts me. George Santayana said it best when he said "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I am reeling from watching this film. I was not prepared emotionally for what these filmmakers have presented here. The stories of the survivors are more horrific and saddening than I could have ever imagined. We see for the first time the true face of war and specifically nuclear war. Anyone who watches this and then still has the balls to call for the continued proliferation or stockpiling of nuclear weapons must surely be the keeper of a black heart. This film is powerful. The images we are shown are explicit and unapologetic, war is like that, yeah it is. From the matter of fact frankness of the aviators who flew the bombs to their intended targets to the heart wrenching descriptions of survivors relating how they, after the bombs were dropped watched while their families died horribly and sometimes slowly in front of them was more than I could bare...

A powerful Documentary that put a man like me to tears

[Dream_seeker · 10/10 · 23 August 2008]

Around August in 1945 was a day that changed not just two towns in japan but the world as well; what caused after that set up a lot of tragedy as well as a lot of fears for the future one that even Einstein and Oppenheimer feared the worst.

"White light/Black rain" is another Strong, thought provoked, Gritty journey into the nature of man. As a African-American man that actually had a chance to visit the Nagasaki Peace Memorial park it did bring a lot to me to actually walk the park itself and try to hold in some emotion and not cry in the process. But seeing the Documentary I had to let it out and this is a man saying that i cried for their generations beforehand that went thru the experience and the lives and families they have lost...the images throughout the film will have anyone that watch this give some emotion one way or another; the part that got to me was one of the survivors that watched her sister jump in front of the train due to radiation poisoning and her reaction when she tried to argue with an American solider who couldn't understand her but just smiled...it made a person like me angry at that though.

Around 140,000 people and an additional 70,000 died in the wake of this as well as the aftermath that would make the events of 9/11 feel like a cakewalk in comparison; its a strong realization of how human nature reaches a boiling point and set off a chain that will change the future...if anything this film is very thought provoked and will have anyone that view it either weep, or think and i recommend this film to anyone that wants to see a dark side of history that this generation is seeming to forget slowly but surely.

10/10- For a lot of powerful and scary images that will hit your senses in one way or another and the survivors and there stories from different points of view but all fall into the same fate, its a story that needs to be told but its also a story that every human needs to learn from.

We should know where are we coming from..

[dimitrova-siyana · 10/10 · 24 February 2021]

..so that we lead humanity in better direction! It is heartbreaking to see what we are capable of doing to each other. Just watch it and remember.

more horrible than the worst horror are the lies about it

[karlericsson · 6/10 · 23 August 2007]

For intelligent people this film is a solid "ten" but I crave that films should be more outspoken. I'm just seeing the "This is your life"-part of this documentary, in which a survivor is invited to an American talk-show and made to shake hands with the pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. The talk-master is careful to point out how 20 girls from Hiroshima are receiving plastic surgery in the US without having to pay for it and he also makes the pilot understand that he was on a military mission and that that excuses everything. That part of the documentary is so revealing that it makes you stomach turn and you suddenly understand a lot about the US. As we have witnessed in the documentary before, Japan was already loosing the war and everybody knew it, especially the Jap people who had no shoes and nothing much else. One bomb would have been more than enough and it wouldn't have to have been such a big one. But 2 bombs? What can I say? The American people have a big cross to carry and I hope they do something about their situation because if justice is ever done without them (and how can we be absolutely sure that there is no God, who sees all this?), their future does not look too bright.

Never again

[JohnSeal · 10/10 · 25 September 2007]

Shortly after ascending to the throne of American power, know-nothing President Harry Truman took the cagey advice of his virulently anti-communist Secretary of State, James Byrnes, and, in the dying days of World War II, approved the use of the atomic bomb against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Framing the bomb as a way to avoid a mythical 'one million American casualties' in a seaborne invasion of Japan, Byrnes sold Truman a bill of goods: he actually intended to use the bomb to warn off the Soviet Union from any ideas of flexing their military muscle in the post-war world. As a result, approximately 140,000 people were incinerated, and thousands more condemned to a slow death, all in the name of furthering the foreign policy goals of the United States.

Here are the fruits of Byrnes' unconscionable wickedness. Interviews with a dozen survivors of these terrible war crimes are interwoven with horrifying footage of the carnage, deeply moving artwork created by those same survivors, and commentary by surviving crew members of the Enola Gay mission. The survivors are, each and every one, dignified and thoughtful reminders that the old 'eye for an eye' adage is pure, unadulterated bunkum. And have we learned any lessons from August 1945? Have we Hell. Watch this film and peer into the heart of darkness past and the heart of darkness yet to come.

Never Forget...

[UNOhwen · 9 April 2019]

Something many people - primarily westerners - don't know; Japan, to this day, has never - EVER allowed students to know that is was they who were the aggressor, and with it, the horrors unleashed by them, are still unknown by many.

Today, with now people than ever making idiotic, snap judgements, without knowing any facts, is very, very important to understand.

There's a dictum; history is written by the victors, and though this issue true, what happened during the last hundred years, the first time where so much information had been captured, saved, disseminated, that is the first time, in which all sides are able to speak.

I think people (mostly the group known as 'm-ll-n--ls') will come away from watching White Light/Black Rain, with the (false) belief that the 'evil West' inflicted such hospital on the peaceful, loving people of Japan, arms as I said, almost 3/4 of a century after this, Japan has done very little to either explain to its people, to educate, nor have they apologised to any people (Chinese, Koreans, Pacific islanders) to whom they inflicted horrors, upon which even the Nazis were sickened.

I say this..'preamble' because I hope that anyone who watches this - admittedly touching documentary featuring the voices from the very few survivors of (let's hope) the only time nuclear warheads will every be used (upon civilians) - will understand that this is only part of the picture.

Hindsight is wonderful, but it's not reality.

In in the many years since these events, people have said that japan's war efforts were faltering, and using such weapons was unnecessary.

There's others who concur, but, they say that - knowing of the almost maniacal sadistic-Ness gf the imperial military, Japan -in spite of eminent loss - would've initiated a 'scorched earth'-like policy, and anywhere the military was withdrawing from, they would've killed, brutalised, destroyed everyone, everything.

I come away from WL/BR with (admitted) empathy for these people, and for the horrors they lived through, as well as the pains - egotistical and physical - through which they've endured these many decades. It is heartbreaking. I wish I could say - to each one of them - in-person ; I'm so, so truly sorry. I know my words can never be anything but trifle, but there are many who wish - like a parent, who's child has hem injured - that they could magically take away all the pain, all the suffering, because not one of these people deserved any of it.

Not one.

I mean I every words I've just said.

I mean it ; now of that people deserved anything, but I also mean that imperial Japan's military was one of the moray barbaric entities imaginable.

How am I able to take these 2 -apparent cowardice thoughts and believe them both? Because, I'm capable of separating the 2 groups, andi have one question; would it have been possible to have dropped the bombs on Imperial Japanese military targets, such as their ports, etc. ? P yes, civilian casualties would've still happened, due to the immense amount of energy released during fission as well as fusion (an aside; the amount of nuclear material used in one of these bombs is frighteningly small, whereas the devastation if caused is beyond scope. Moreover, the bombs of today are now powerful - unimaginably so, through there are small... 'targetable' nuclear 'bullets' so to speak, which can be much more precisely targeted. The bombs used here, would be - analogously-speaking, comparing strength between an ant and a thoroughbred).

2 cities-worth of civilian citizens were - not just killed, but yp many were vapourised - those few 'fortunate' enough to have time through this, but leaving a.. 'reminder' of their mere existence, left nothing more solid than a nuclear blast 'shadow' - a slightly darkened area, in the form of a 'person'; exactly like the shadow one sees of themselves as they walk outside on a sunny day. As ephemeral, but that's all their is.

I would make the viewing off WK/BR mandatory for all history students - everywhere, including that in Japan (its actually nor funny in the open Ng of this documentary when various young people in both cities are asked if they knew what happened on the dates the bombs were dropped - and NOT ONE knew. That'd fighting, because as another group who was massacred during WWII has made a very important almost mantra-like statement; 'NEVER FORGET'. Sadly, in the very heart of what is ground-zero of the centre of the nuclear arms race, it's clear, teaching what had happened and what could - again - it's separated by a layer so imperceptibly thin.

America, This Is Your Life! (This Is Also Your Fault!)

[strong-122-478885 · 6/10 · 26 May 2015]

For me to say that this documentary called "White Light, Black Rain" was an extremely sobering experience would truly be an understatement like no other.

To think that America (as a united nation), egged on by their hypocritical president, Harry Truman, so righteously believed that dropping the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945 was the only way to end the war has convinced me that that society of deluded people was, at the time, collectively, an even bigger and worse monster than was Adolf Hitler.

In "White Light, Black Rain" Japanese survivors of these twin atomic bomb blasts tell of their horrific experiences on those 2 fateful days in 1945. As well, American pilots and crew-members nervously smile while they whole-heartedly talk about doing their duty as obedient citizens, who knowingly took their part in instantly wiping out the lives of half a million people.

When the viewer is shown the hideous footage revealing the horrific results of what intense radiation exposure had on the unsuspecting Japanese people, they will surely be left aghast at what America so guiltlessly did to these people.

All-in-all - "White Light, Black Rain" is a real eye-opener for anyone who wants to face the horrendous reality of how the Americans ended WW2, while smugly patting themselves on the back and boasting about this ultimate feat of destructive power.

The Wilful Murder Of 0ver 200,000 Inocent People That Had Nothing To Do With Ending The War!

[silicontourist · 10/10 · 28 November 2021]

The Japanese people, throughout their history, have always been ruled by one of the most cruelest, arrogant and barbaric group of thugs ever in power...the uncaring Emperor's, Shoguns and the Samurai (who would behead peasants if they failed to bow to them). The leaders in WW2 were even more arrogant than any of their ancestors; and way more than American politicians and military warmongers. I am a person who has loved the art and history etc of the far east even though the people have a penchant for unbelievable and horrific violence. It is still prevalent today! If you also look into the history of America it also has a tainted and violent history (look at the mass slaughter and genocide of the Native American people, who once numbered 500 tribes).

I mention the above only so that people know that no country is a totally innocent country but, its ordinary citizens, its children etc should not be the recipient of such barbaric violence that is perpetuated in war!

Yes! Japan committed one of the most cowardly acts in history when they bombed Pearl Harbour but, America reciprocated with a cold hardhearted plan of the most despicable atrocity ever done to human beings! There is a whole lot of evidence to show that Japan was used as an Atomic testing ground...think Russia; that however is a story for another time elsewhere.

This is a documentary that should be shown to people around the world, in schools etc. The Japanese public should be told the real story (as I found it disgraceful that the younger people there had no idea of what pain Japan caused throughout the war) of what happened to their country on August 6th 1945 and, about the disgraceful way their government treats Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims to this very day! Stories like these need to be compulsory education so that you don't get numb-nut yanks and others blabbing about how so and so should be nuked etc, etc!

Its heartbreaking and will move many to tears but I fear documentary pieces, such as this, will not have the effect of pushing the world into the streets, to march, protest and call for the eradication of all Nuclear weapons.

WW3 will wipe out most of mankind and those who are left to start WW4 will only have rocks to throw! Einstein was so right when he said that!

Devastating first-hand account of the Atomic bombings and their aftermath

[ProfessorFrink7 · 10/10 · 25 November 2020]

White Light/Black Rain is a devastating portrait of the horrors that the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki faced during and after the Atomic Bombings, doing so through vivid, haunting firsthand accounts from survivors of the blasts. This film illuminates the suffering of those who survived, while contrasting that with interviews of young, modern Japanese who when asked about what happened in 1945, surprisingly, have no clue. This is a revelatory example of a unique aspect of Japanese culture. In remaking themselves into a capitalist technology obsessed society, it seems to want to almost forget about the nightmares of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The price paid for this willful forgetfulness usually falls squarely on the shoulders of the aging survivors, who have been discriminated against as if they were pariahs while constantly being tested on for scientific purposes since the bombings. Thankfully there are films like these to help keep the firsthand accounts recorded for future generations. This film also has firsthand accounts of the American pilots and scientists, who didn't even understand the potential effects of radiation, that helped foster this horrifying event, but for the purpose of this database we should focus on the firsthand Japanese accounts, giving visual examples to why these weapons should never be used again. All too often in American history we acknowledge these attacks as the end of the war and eventual cause for celebration. With White Light/Black Rain, we see though the war may have ended, these nightmarish bombs destroyed so many innocent lives.

Haunting Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 24 April 2012]

White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Haunting, chilling and sad documentary taking a look at the Atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII. The documentary from director Steven Okazaki speaks with survivors of the events as well as Americans involved in the dropping of the bombs. What caught me off guard about this documentary is that it doesn't try to place blame, question the events or really doing any type of second guessing. I think it's clear that the message is that nothing like this should ever happen again but I give the director credit for not trying to change history and instead use it to show what actually happened and to hopefully prevent anything like it from happening again. I'm really not sure who to recommend this to because even though it's very good the subject matter is just rather painful to watch and especially during the stories being told by the survivors. Hearing stories of children being blown to pieces only to unfortunately survive and realize that everyone they know is dead was heartbreaking. Even worse is seeing some of the pain that the people were in because the blast was so strong that it melted many people on contact while others had their eyes blown out and some were pretty much burned to the bone. We get to see many photos and videos taken the day after the bomb and it's just shocking to see the aftermath. Even more shocking is seeing how much damage the bombs did to people's bodies and it's just amazing that so many children were burned over 100% of their body and yet were able to survive. The documentary really does pay justice to those brave enough to survive this entire ordeal and it's just amazing to see. The film also talks with some Americans involved and get their thoughts on the matter. This certainly isn't an easy film to watch but I think it's message is right there on full display.

Never Again

[wolverton7 · 10/10 · 6 July 2018]

This film is a breathtakingly beautifull depiction of truth. The graciousness of the Japanese people humbles me. I wasn't even born then. Yet, my apology is profound. -tkf/DFW