Can circumstances turn bitter enemies fighting for their countries into true friends? None But the Brave attempts to answer this question with a unique look at the relationship between two companies of enemy soldiers during World War II. This 1965 film is a character study of the two groups one American, the other Japanese. Marooned together on an island, they are forced into a reluctant cease-fire in order to help each other survive.
Frank Sinatra plays Chief Pharmacist Maloney, an alcoholic medic. As always, `Ol' Blue Eyes' shines with his great performance, proving how incredibly underrated he is as an actor. His co-stars are Tatsuya Mihashi as Lieutenant Kuroki and Clint Walker as Captain Bourke. The poignant story is told from the perspective of Kuroki, the ranking Japanese soldier. Mihashi performs brilliantly as a man driven to honor his country, but in his heart carries deep hatred for violence and `admires men's works. not their destruction.' Walker's portrayal as Bourke, an American soldier haunted by his past, is outstanding. Kuroki and Bourke's positions are paralleled throughout the film as they struggle to keep their men under control in the middle of nowhere.
Sinatra was more than one of the film's stars. In a bit of multitasking, he also produced and displayed his directing skills in his only directorial endeavor. It is very apparent that the filmmakers tried extremely hard to display fair portrayals of both sides. For instance, there were three writers, Kikumaru Okuda and Katsuya Susaki, both Japanese, and John Twist, an American.
It was surprising that John Williams, credited as Johnny Williams, composed the musical score for this film. This was a rare opportunity to see just how much is skills have evolved since 1965, which of course is to be expected. While the music was entertaining, it did not reach the caliber of most of his soundtracks from around 1974 and up.
This was an excellent motion picture. It gets all points for writing and acting. The directing was quite good. My only criticism is that some of the action scenes could have been more dynamic. Sinatra apparently decided to use a very straightforward approach with the camerawork. This resulted in somewhat stagnant feel to the battle scenes where a slightly different angle would have made all the difference. This may have been on purpose, as this was not a typical shoot 'em up, drag 'em out war film, but had a much more intelligent story.
7 out of 10
