“Shin Godzilla,” released on Oct 11, 2016, directed by “Evangelion,” creator Hideaki Anno was instantly cemented as a timeless classic for the franchise. Fast forward nine more years and “Shin Godzilla,” just released a 4k re-release in theaters and it still holds up today as one of the best Godzilla movies ever made.
“Shin Godzilla,” follows a pattern that Godzilla films have had before, that is utilizing a fear that the people of Japan harbor to construct its narrative. For example, the original “Godzilla,” from 1954 was messaging of the dangers that come with weapons of mass destruction. “The Return of Godzilla,” from 1984 played off fears posed by the Cold War. “Shin Godzilla,” was made in recent memory of the Fukushima meltdown, which the Japanese Government had a noticeably slow reaction to which is reflected heavily in the film.
The cinematography of “Shin Godzilla,” works well to complement its story as well as it has many shots that work to invoke fear and terror. For example, there are a wide range of faraway shots of Godzilla in the background, closeups to portray how monstrous he is, ground shots that expertly give a sense of scale and so on. It works well to give him the feeling of a disaster slowly advancing.
The soundtrack, composed by Shiro Sagisu, also works in tandem to further enhance the quality of the film’s story telling. For example, the track “Persecution of the Masses,” is a track meant to convey how humans feel small and helpless when faced with Godzilla, as indicated by lyrics that read “Persecution of the masses, sacred blessings count for nothing. Oh god give us your protection.” While “Who Will Know,” is a track told from Godzilla’s perspective, as it paints his pain and fear as he wanders, lost as the only one of his kind, a monstrosity created by the nuclear power, as indicated by lyrics that read “If I die in this world, who will know something of me? I am lost, no one knows. There’s no trace of my yearning.” All in all, “Shin Godzilla,” is a masterfully crafted film that displays an excellent narrative as well as a masterclass of filmmaking and story writing.
