MW (2009) M.W.

Original title: M.W. (MW-ムウ-)

Country: Japan

Year: 2009

Genre: Drama

IMDB Rating: 5.8 ^{64 votes}

Plot: When a top secret chemical compound called MW infects an island near Okinawa, the military is sent in to kill all the victims and cover up the incident. A survivor named Michio Yuki (Tamaki) grows up to become a highly-successful banker, but he is slowly being driven mad by the effects of MW. After committing a series of ruthless crimes to get revenge against the people responsible for the cover-up, he decides that the only way to truly get revenge is to unleash MW on the world and exterminate the entire human race. Takayuki Yamada stars as Father Garai, a priest desperately trying to save Michio’s soul — and possibly his own in the process — but not necessarily doing much to stop the crime spree. (Source: nipponcinema)

• The movie is based on a 1970s manga of the same title by 'god of manga' Osamu Tezuka. This manga series is notable because is can be seen as first Tezuka's gritty, cynical and adult-oriented work that sharply contrasted the softer, Disney-influenced style that Tezuka was associated with. It was influenced by the complexity of its '70s political context of the Vietnam War and Japanese student movement against American military presence. When published, manga received lots of attention due to the high level of violence and homosexual themes contained within its story.
  
  
• On June 30, a few days before the MW release, NTV broadcasted an original 'MW' television drama titled MW Chapter 0: Akuma no Game. It set several months before the actual story in Tezuka's manga and features Tamaki Hiroshi and young rising actor Sato Takeru in leading roles.

Language: Japanese, Thai, English

Colormode: Color

Running time: 127