The Man Who Stole the Sun is a 1979 Japanese triller directed by Hasegawa Kazuhiko and staring Kenji Sawada, Bunta Sugawara, Kimiko Ikegami, Kazuo Kitamura, Shigeru Kôyama, Kei Satō and Yūnosuke Itō. The film centres around a high school science teacher who builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, however he can’t decide what he wants. As this is going on a demined cop is set on catching the teacher who is dying on radiation poisoning. The Man Who Stole the Sun is a crazy, interesting, and unique film that is great and defiantly worth a watch.
The direction in the film is good. The film has a cool weird style to it film the film opening with atomic bomb footage against the sun set as well as a cool 70s style. The film showcases themes of the problems of overpopulation in urban areas with the protagonist depict as a lone character fighting against society. The film has a good over the top zany style to it combined with a Taxi Drive esc character study as the film depicts a lone generous against the mundane. The film shows the themes of fantasy and reality blending as the film is a commentary on the stresses of modern Japanese society. The film has a hidden underlining seriousness to it despite being goofy. These combining elements are shown with Makoto the teacher being shown as a hero despite not doing anything, him being detached from reality shows that he never quite realises the seriousness of his situation. The film has a zaniness and a seriousness to it with two clashing themes throughout the film. The film is ultimately a comedic version of Taxi wants this film is a character study of a broke man, this further showcases the themes of his fantasy vs reality as he thinks his James Bond but, he is a terrorist.
Matoko is not cool he is just shown as an average teacher, the film has a funny good use of juxtaposition of the medias idea of him begin a criminal mastermind vs the reality of him being a normal guy. The building of the atomic bomb is shown both with painstakingly scientific accuracy as well as a mundane normality, this again shows the films juxtapositions as this is both comedic and serous in the scene were the oven catches on fire. The film has a great juxtaposition to it with the making the bomb sequence being shown as both seriousness and realistic as well as mundane, as the film demonstrates the themes of the danger of nuclear with an accident around the powerplant causes radioactivity to rise. This madness is shown with the long sequence of him building the bomb which has a surreal element to it. As well as being surreal building the bomb is also shown in a nonchalant way with him being fun, however this is shown against the backdrop of serious terrorist threats. With all the power at his depose however he asks for mundane things like baseball games to run without adds as he feels like a god, he ultimately can’t decide what to do with his power making a list of frivolous things. In an irony he can ask for anything but now he doesn’t know what he wants as thins irony creates comedy juxtaposing normality and craziness.
Reiko the female radio reporter seemingly likes the guy as Makoto feels like a Rockstar. In a meet cute romance, she is turned on by Makoto’s terrorist nature who tricks her and throws her in the water as the film has a good cool weird surreal phycological thriller element to the film. Makoto does feel the weight his action and is aware to some extent a with this power he wants to fight back against the power controlling people’s lives. The film does contemplate the real-world impaction of the detonation as he wants money. The film is ultimately a zany cat and mouse chase as he is like a crazy zany good as the film is both zany and serous at the same time. The main character is then caught up in a real genuine terrorist attack with is shown as serious as he is bleeding at the mouth form stress as he to some extend understands the seriousness but never fully. In a funny twist it turns out the bomb was under their desk the whole time as he tells them how to disarm it once they give him is freedom, as they then scatter money on the crowd allowing for his escape. The film has cool weird surreal dream sequence to it with him looking at the sky with an effect on it, Makoto then jumps though the window shooting people and grabbing the bomb as the terrorist attack which is shown as zany and crazy. The three of them engage in a high-speed car chase as Reiko radios the participants as all of this is shown live as they make a show out of it. The film has great crazy stunts to it as Makoto gets the police guy to crash his car. The reporter puts a mask on Makoto as they get into a police chase, the car is shot at and rolled as Reiko dies in the stand-off between Matoko and the cops shoot at him, and he runs away. After this Matoko goes back to his boring mundane life as the film shows a surreal dream sequence of him killing people including himself in a pool. The film ends with Makoto holding the police chief hostage and they confront their ideologies with Matoko talking about the dead city whilst the cop states his only killing himself. They shoot at each other and jump through the roof, as the inspector falls to his death and Makoto survives. The film ends with Makoto back to where he started just another person walking around the street with the bomb his hair is falling out showing his dying from radiation as the bomb finally explodes killing him.
The acting in the film is good. Kenji Sawada does a good job as Maokoto Kido a genius charter who build a bomb. He is a character who has his head in the clouds who somewhat understands the seriousness of what is going but not fully. Bunta Sugawara does a god job as Inspector Masuo Yamashita. He plays the ideological opposite to Makoto a no-nonsense police inspector that will stop at nothing to maintain law and order. Kimiko Ikegami does a good job as Reiko Sawai also known as Zero a zany radio personality looking for her big scoop. Kazuo Kitamura does a good job as Tanaka. Shigeru Kôyama does a good job as Nakayama. Kei Satō does a good job as Dr. Ichikawa. Yūnosuke Itō does a good job as the Bus Hijacker, a crazy guy that hijacks a bush at gun point that influences Makoto.
The writing in the film is good. Makoto Kido is a brilliant scientist and schoolteacher which is unsatisfied with his life and society, who is shown to be an outcast lazy and bored as shown with his chewing gum, he is shown as eccentric and brilliant but also mad. Makoto is a zany character who lives alone, a genius in a self-made lab in a rubbish little apartment living a bachelor lifestyle. Makoto is also a character who is somewhat detached from reality this is a commentary on the stress of modern Japanese society. He knocks out an oblivious guard and no one seemingly cares as everyone is in their own little world as he is detached from society and written off as a weirdo. There is a great devastating reality to the film with the crazy man on the bus. At first Mokoto tries to fight him as he never quite understands the reality, his head is in the clouds not understands the reality of a guy hijacking a bus and killing people. The police try and stop him, Mokoto then gets out to talk to the police again as he is detached from everything despite being in a real situation as the inspector enters the bus and gets the passengers out by acting crazy. The crazy guy ends up getting surrounded by students as the cops as the cps grab him and he is shot, in a beautiful irony Makoto is seen as a hero despite not doing anything. Maokoto talks about atomic energy in his class and the atomic bomb as the film is both a light-hearted comedy and a serious social political commentary, the is film is like Taxi Driver but funny as he doesn’t know what he wants as this film is an interesting character study of a broken man.
He sneaks into a nuclear powerplant to get the necessary nuclear materials for the bomb as this serious action is shown as a zany comedy, he thinks his James Bond, but he does a serious illegal action he kills people and blows stuff up he is a terrorist. Makoto is not portrayed as cool but instead an average teacher who doesn’t care about the ramifications of his actions, as people make wild actuations about him Makoto is simply shown as just some loser in his apartment. The film has a good juxtaposition between the mundane normality and him building the bomb, as several scenes show him building the bomb done with accuracy normality and a sense of humour. The film shows the events in crazy humour but never realises how dangerous it all is. He puts radioactive material in the oven and heat them up as he drinks a beer and watches the TV. This again shows how he has a compete detachment from reality creating comedy. The oven then catches fire as he uses a fire extinguisher as this again showcases this scene being a slapstick comedy moment with dangerous ramifications that underpin it. His craziness is shown as he teaches his class how to make an atomic bomb, he continues making the bomb slowly at home with painstaking scientific accuracy with is shown in both a serious and comedic way as he has his own rag tag operation. An accident around the nuclear powerplant causes radioactivity to rise, as at home as Makoto makes a homemade nucellar core which looks a bit dodgy but professional at the same time.
This unprofessionalism is also shown with his cat being around the nuclear core spilling stuff, Makoto gets upset and worries about not the potential death caused by his bomb but rather his cat dying. Makoto is both zany and crazy but also completely detached from reality and bored by his job as a teacher. The film uses juxtaposition great as the film shows him building the bomb in a nonchalant way having fun, this hour is further shown with him sneaking into a building as a pregnant woman with the bomb. He talks to the police about robbing a nuclear powerplant and returning some stuff to the police officer as he is shown to be nice but crazy at the same time. The film also has great zaniness with Makoto being a crossdresser who makes dangerous terrorist threats, as the threat is shown in a dangerous and nonchalant way. With the bomb at his disposable, he demands baseball games to run longer without adds with unlimited power in his hands he can’t decide what to od and just does frivolous things feeding into the system of oppression. He rings the radio show with Zero capitalising on the situation he states that he can ask for anything, but he doesn’t know what he wants so he asks the people. People end up using the bomb like a magic lamp wishing for desires some stupid wishes, some serious ones, some little ones, some big ones. From his infante power Makoto gets The Rolling Stones to play in Japan, as this happens, he is thanked by the police for helping with the high jacking not knowing that he is the man behind the bomb. The radio girl manages to get Makoto his concert as she is helping the cops to get him, as she finally realises, she has found to bomb guy and find him.
Makoto doesn’t let Zero know any information about him as he tries to act serous, but she can see through his tricks, he then acts seemingly romantic but throws her in in the water, however despite this she doesn’t want to do him in. Makoto does feel the weight of his actions to some extent, as he fights back against the money lander as again, he wants to disrupt society even if he can’t fully do so. The film shows the real-world implications of the detonation as Makoto wants half a billion to stop the detonation. The government cut the circuit to track him however he realises and cuts the conversation short, as he makes the people carrying the money walk and run. The police manage to trace the call and run after him however he gives him the slip, however like a real genuine terrorist attack he ends up bleeding for the mouth form stress on some level he does understand the seriousness of what he is doing but never fully. He tries to kill himself, but he can’t do it, as again he somewhat understands the seriousness of what he has oden but never fully. It turns out that the bomb was under the desk the whole time as he tells them to disarm it once they give him his freedom, as they scatter the money on the crowd allowing for his escape showing how the capitalist system will survive despite the destruction. The radio girl ends up finding him as he jumps through the window shooting people and grabs the bomb. In a zany crazy terrorist attack, as al three of then engage in a high-speed car chase.
She then radios all this live to make a shootout of it as Makoto gets the police guy to crash the car. Zero then puts a mask on Makoto as they engage in a chase with the police as she dies in a stand-off between him and the cops as he runs away. He then goes back to his boring mundane life as he kills people and himself in a pool n a dream sequence. The film ends with Makoto confronting the police chief and holds himself hostage, as Makoto believes this is a dead city whilst the chief states, he should kill himself as they are two clashing ideologies. They end up fighting as Makoto and the police inspector jumps off the roof, as the inspector falls to his death, but Makoto survives. The film ends in a crazy way as Makoto becomes just another person walking around the street, he just so happens to have a bomb pulling his hair out he is dying from radiation poisoning as the bomb finally explodes killing him, showing he is not above the society like anyone else and even the people drying to change the world are bound to conform.
The cinematography in the film is good. The cinematography in the film is decent but nothing amazing however there is a cool x-ray effect that is used in the film.
The special effects in the film are good. The props and costumes in the film specifically the props of him making the bomb are good. The film has a cool visual effect with him being naked inside of a nuclear core. The film also has crazy piratical stunts such as car chases and explosions as well as good fire effects.
The Man Who Stole the Sun is a great crazy, interesting, and unique film that people should defiantly watch.