Brian L. Tan’s Holdout distinguishes itself by its detailed storytelling; Holdout tells the true story of a Japanese lieutenant in WWII who, not believing that Japan had surrendered, held out in a Phillipine jungle for nearly thirty years. Tan, with Christina Burlison’s screenplay, recreates this faithfully, including almost every detail with creativity, so that it flows naturally without hints of being cramped.
Toshi Todi plays Matsuo Ohori, based on the original Hiroo Onoda, introduced to the audience in a key moment: before dying, his friend and fellow soldier Okita exhorts him to not give up fighting. This reinforces Ohori’s path and sets the stage for the next decades that come. Tony Fiala’s score is a beast, promising tense energy from the get go. In many ways, it fits its central character. Ohori, although almost wordless, is vicious and tautly alert. The film’s tension is of a suspenseful kind, hinged on the immediate threat to a Japanese-American tourist’s (Sean, played by Mick Tolbert) life after he has stepped on a landmine.
Sean comes as a strong reality check for Ohori: he begins to believe Sean where he did not believe the authorities. The moment is delicate and the director balances it just right. Their interaction craftily incorporates many elements of the real story, making it fascinating to watch, both on its superficial level and as a testament of the film’s merit.
The subsequent action speaks more to Ohori’s psyche than Sean’s fate and Todi pulls off a splendid act, using a mere handful of words to dissect and portray a complex character, the credit of which goes also to the screenplay. The film offers no spoonfed message; Onoda, with multiple murders to his name, is portrayed with the intent of explanation only.
The subsequent action speaks more to Ohori’s psyche than Sean’s fate and Todi pulls off a splendid act, using a mere handful of words to dissect and portray a complex character, the credit of which goes also to the screenplay.
The film offers no spoon-fed message; Onoda, with multiple murders to his name, is portrayed with the intent of explanation only. And what we learn of isolation and blind faith is that each feeds off the other. How strangely familiar.
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