Therapist Reacts: GODZILLA MINUS ONE

How do you recover from being at your lowest point?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are taking a look at Godzilla Minus One and the themes of PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and failure. They talk about how it’s a Godzilla movie with all the smashy smashy big monster fun AND it tells a story about human connection and emotions. Jonathan talks about Kōichi’s immense trauma and how well Noriko helps him through it all. Alan talks about the impeccable acting and intelligent filmmaking on a smaller budget and how it won the Oscar (!!) for Best Visual Effects. So well deserved!

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: Emily Colton
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[vezimas]

My grandfather survived WW2 and when my father saw this movie all he said was "it is like watching dad when I was young, he was with us but his presence is far away"

[nicksmyth]

I really like how even Godzilla is a victim of trauma. He was burned alive and mutated into a horrific unnatural monster. Even in the opening scene, he only attacked when provoked. He’s lashing out at the people he deems hurt him.
There’s a great fan speech about Godzilla: “I was the last of my kind, and you turned me into the first. That is why I punish you. Because I never thought I could be more alone”

[batmanvsjoker]

Man, "Is your war finally over?" still gets me. This movie is such a beautiful human movie disguised as a Godzilla film.

[moggetunleashed]

Something that struck me is how Tachibana gets his own kind of release at the end. He was an airplane mechanic that for the latter part of the war worked on kamikaze planes; in other words, sending men off explicitly to die. In the end, he helps someone accomplish their mission and live as well. When he tells Shikishima "Live" I feel like he's also thinking "Please don't let me send another person to their death."

[joenobody]

"Stop checking boxes and start telling stories."

Disney feels personally attacked right now. 😂

[benwasserman]

Godzilla is one big-ass metaphor for survivor's guilt/PTSD in Minus One. Which is especially bad when you're a Kamikaze pilot who clearly didn't do his job.

[kingkelevra]

This was the first Godzilla movie where I actually cared about the humans! Such a beautiful movie.

[notgeneralsnaz]

I think Sumiko doesn't get enough credit in the movie. She lost everything too, her home, her neighbors, her husband (in the war probably), and especially her kids. She placed blame on Koichi immediately, gave up "caring" in her despair. But she quickly turned around as soon as she saw a chance to help their little found family. She has too much kindness in her to let the bad things that happened keep her down.

[arshaddahlan]

As a man that's had suicidal ideation and felt like I didn't deserve to live and be on this earth, I cried in the middle of this movie whilst watching it in the cinema.

It reminded me of the quote "sometimes even to live is an act of courage." I've found that choosing to live can be a hard choice at times, but I'm glad I've chosen to live and not act on my dark thoughts

[nalublackwater]

Everyone who has watched or knows about Grave of the Fireflies will understand this: I love Noriko above all characters in this movie because she "got involved". She saved Akiko without being a mother, she stuck by Koichi despite all his inner demons and loved him without being his wife or his lover, and only was about leaving him when she sensed she could be a liability. We praise the heroes who pilot warplanes and fight, but it's human being like Noriko the ones who make the world worth fighting for.




(Yes I actually cheered and cried in the last scene)

[SlitherWhisp]

The other reason Shikishima did not kill himself is his parents told him to come back to them, to come back alive. That's why coming home to find them dead had a greater impact. He acted "dishonorably", in his opinion, and does not even get to come home to his parents.

[greghimm]

The guy who played Koichi is the guy who voiced Taki in ‘Your Name’. This guy gotta stop making me cry in movies he’s in.

[shinankoku]

“Stop checking boxes. Start telling stories.” -Johnno

Hear hear!!

[CrashJay]

My wife and I discussed this movie for a couple hours after seeing it and one of the things we came away from it with was how it depicted honor and duty. At the beginning, he has a duty to die and is dishonored because he chickened out. But as the movie goes on it shifts and becomes a duty to LIVE. And to find the honor in moving forward every day despite your demons. This movie was awesome. And props to the sound design too. The super loud parts were saved for the most important. And it got ghostly quiet in my theater at some points. It was magical.

[nathanieldavis]

As a non-deployed Marines Veteran that has ptsd, survivors guilt, and imposter syndrome. I relate to this character. Not going to lie, i cried in the theater with some of the PTSD triggers.

This is the best movie of 2023. And probably of the decade.

[mrfafaa]

At the start of the movie he was too afraid to die, at the end of the movie he had the courage to live.

[Doggles]

This was my 2023 movie of the year no joke. Beautifully crafted and the first Godzilla movie where I actively cared about the human protagonists.

[vulpes]

Finally a new Godzilla movie in which the humans are relatable and convincing and not just running away from being stomped!

[hobbytinkerer]

“There may be people who don’t want you around.
There may be people who treat you like garbage.
There may be people who blame you for a lot of things.
And maybe there’s some truth to what they blame you for.
Maybe there are areas where you stumbled, where you fell.
But how they treat you, that’s a them thing.
And how they value you, that’s a them thing.”

I really needed to hear this. As someone who got thrown to the side by someone who I thought I was close to, it messes with me a lot. Hearing this just helps. Thanks Cinema Therapy!

[stephenbradford]

I saw this movie in the theater with my brother and dad. All three of us, grown men, cried our eyes out. Such a wonderful surprise, to see a movie so life-affirming.