Visas and Virtue (1997)

Director:

Chris Tashima

Writers:

Tom Donaldson (writer)
Chris Tashima (writer)

Genre:

Short

Tagline:

A short film inspired by the true story of Chiune Sugihara

Plot:

Europe, 1940. For thousands of Jews, a Japanese diplomat and his wife defy Tokyo and the Nazis, and offer visas, for life.

Plot Keywords:

Holocaust | Asian American | Based On Play | Independent Film

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Chris Tashima	...	Chiune 'Sempo' Sugihara
Susan Fukuda	...	Yukiko Sugihara
Diana Georger	...	Helena Rosen
Lawrence Craig	...	Nathan Rosen
Shizuko Hoshi	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shauna Bloom	...	Woman
Jon Cellini	...	Brother
Martin Fontana	...	Man
Gibson Frazier	...	Cantor
Alan H. Friedenthal	...	Refugee #1
Linda Igarashi	...	Setsuko
Jonathan Klein	...	Brother
Noel Miller	...	Young Man
Kyoko Motoyama	...	Elderly Yuki
Richard Nakaoka	...	Sugihara child #1
Jack Newalu	...	Man at train station
Jimmy Paola	...	Student #2
Patricia Penn	...	Refugee #2
Jude Gerard Prest	...	Husband
Maria Stanton	...	Wife
Pamela Tretter	...	Mother
Colm Wood	...	Student #1
Mitsushi Yamaguchi	...	Elderly Sempo

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:Unrated

Company:

Cedar Grove Productions

This is an amazing film--why haven't we heard more about it?!

This film is about a true hero. A seemingly ordinary man that chose to do the right thing even at the risk of his own life. Like Oskar Schindler and John Rabe, Sempo Sugiwara actively worked to save as many lives as he could during mass genocide. While not the safe or expedient thing to do, these men did what they did because they had to act--to do anything to save the few innocents that they could during the 1930s and 40s. Schindler, you've most likely heard about as it was chronicled in the great Steven Spielberg film SCHINDLER'S LIST. Rabe and Sugiwara's stories are a bit different. Today they are still largely forgotten--especially in their home countries. Rabe was a Nazi official in Nanking, China who risked his own life in 1937 to save countless thousands of Chinese peasants from massacre by a rampaging Japanese army. Sempo Sugiwara was a minor Japanese diplomat in Lithuania who risked his life and career writing 2000 exit visas for Jews fleeing the German invasion--even after his own government warned him not to.

This almost thirty minute film tells the extremely touching story of Sugiwara's crusade to save as many as he could before he was ultimately relocated to another post. While the embassy reportedly averaged 300 visas a month, Sugiwara wrote that many each day until eventually 6000 unwanted Jews were allowed to escape annihilation.

The story is told very simply and with great deftness. Considering that the film was made by two men with very limited experience in the field (Chris Tashima and Tom Donaldson), it's a truly amazing film that had me in tears. Considering that this film is brilliantly executed, it's no surprise that this film ended up winning an Academy Award. A truly exceptional film---so why is it rated so poorly on IMDb?!?!?