A Short Review of The Man Who Stole The Sun, a Movie by Kazuhiko Hasegawa

A line that stood out most to me in The Man Who Stole the Sun was when a government official remarked on how an individual does not need an atomic bomb -- that nations are what need it. There's a lot that can be unpacked in this remark that was on my mind for the remainder of the film. The atomic bomb is an immensely destructive, powerful weapon that most certainly does not belong in an individual's hands. But do nations need it? It would seem so now that it has been created, but only because of its very existence. Nuclear weaponry exists in nations all over the world now not only as a means of offense but as defense. It is only because the atomic bomb exists that nations now need it, which is an unnerving paradox.

What became a noticeable trend in the film after Makoto is exposed to the radiation while creating the bomb was the fact that he did not die by the end of the film. Furthermore, this was emphasized by the deaths of all other forefront characters like Zero and Yamashita. When Yamashita takes Makoto with him off the top of a tall building, the viewer is inclined to believe this could be the moment Makoto must certainly die. But by unbelievable chance, Makoto survives the fall, along with his bomb, to which he is obsessively attached as the source of his control and power. This bomb, because it never in the film detonates, then functions as a metaphor for Makoto's impending death from radiation poisoning. Cinematically, this is also indicated at the very beginning and end of the film with the sound of a ticking timer. The sound of an explosion in the final still shot of Makoto emphasizes that, though he should have died in other ways, he is going to die because of this bomb, specifically from the process of making it. Makoto himself knows this, as indicated by the brief pool scene, in which he sees himself floating dead amongst the other bodies. This scene is slightly questionable as to whether or not it actually occurred, especially since Makoto is now hallucinating, and the scene ends so abruptly and without consequential mentioning in the rest of the film. Regardless, the scene functions as a revealing of Makoto's awareness that he is a dead man walking, and yet he still clings to the bomb until the very end.