Kaijuly Raids Again!

As World War II ends, Japan begins to rebuild and heal. Kôichi Shikishima, a surviving kamikaze pilot, returns to his hometown in shame, tortured by visions of a giant beast. His nightmares are made manifest when Godzilla emerges, forcing the people of Japan to defend themselves once more.

No longer a vessel for collective nuclear anxiety, the Godzilla of Minus One is a personalised monster, a spectre of indecision, inaction and guilt. Director Yamazaki’s fresh yet wholly reverent take on the beast makes for a film as arresting, as urgent and as terrifying as the series has ever been.

In this stunning black and white edition, the absence of colour allows the grief and graphic parallels this film shares with the original Gojira (1954) to bubble up to the surface. Previous Godzilla reboots have cast the monster as a hero, a protector, or an American-made Jurassic Park rip-off; Godzilla Minus One is testament that, after 70 years, the true cinematic power of the world’s most famous kaiju remains strikingly relevant.

Showing as part of KaiJuly, a season of films celebrating Japan’s giant monsters, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Gamera – the Giant Monster.

Director Takashi Yamazaki
Year 2023
Duration 2h 5m
Language Japanese with English Subtitles
Cast Minami Hamabe, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Sakura Andô