The Pacific

This HBO miniseries was another terrific production by the Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg team, following their excellent Band of Brothers.

While Brothers told the story of a platoon fighting the Germans in Europe, Pacific tells the story of the Marines’ First Division, who valiantly fought the Japanese in many key battles on several islands of the Pacific Ocean.

While both wars were horrible, the guys fighting in the Pacific got very little respite.  While the troops fighting in Europe had Paris to look forward to, the islands in the Pacific offered no such “appealing target,” adding to the dampening mood.

The Japanese were also a nastier enemy than the Germans, refusing to surrender even when they clearly had no chance of winning.  Their suicidal attacks kept the American soldiers always on edge.  As despicable as the dropping of 2 nuclear bombs over heavily populated cities was, it seems like such drastic action was the only thing that would have broken the will of the Japanese to never surrender.

The format of each episode follows that of Brothers, opening with real surviving veterans talking about what it was really like without revealing their names, thereby making us wonder who will make it out alive in the end.

I loved both miniseries, but I found Pacific to be much more emotionally engaging, perhaps because of the ongoing debate on repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory law that forces honorable gays and lesbians out of the military if their sexual orientation becomes known.  With what these people voluntarily put themselves through in order to serve their country, how could any sane military leader think it wise and smart to get rid of them is beyond my comprehension.

The show is top notch on every aspect: writing, acting, costumes, makeup, visual effects, score, and direction.

Overall, a must see, especially in times like these, when the US is fighting two wars and at least one of them is totally illegitimate.

Grade: 10