The earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster of March 11, 2011, have generated dozens of films, fiction and nonfiction, from nearly every conceivable angle. The only other historical event in the modern era covered so thoroughly by Japanese filmmakers is World War II.
One difference is that, unlike the many war films that sentimentalize and idealize their heroes (those glorifying the tokkо̄tai suicide pilots being prominent examples), films about March 11 have, by and large, tried to be honest, even when it means showing victims in a less-than-positive light.
Some of the filmmakers have spent years getting to know their subjects, enabling them to bring a welcome depth and insight to their stories. While this mostly applies to makers of documentaries, many directors of fiction films have also been forthright and unsparing, doing their own legwork rather than relying on a bestselling novel or other presold property for inspiration — the standard operating procedure of the Japanese film industry.