The Icarus Films September 5, 2017 DVD release of the 2016 documentary "The Apology" is a perfect example of the "innovative and provocative" non-fiction films that comprise most of the Icarus catalog; this one focusing on the 25 year-old struggle of the "grandmas" to receive an apology and reparations for their tenure as involuntary "comfort girls" during WWII provides the frequent element of social commentary in Icarus DVDs.
A synopsis of the issue is that the atrocities of the Japanese army during WWII include literally and figuratively grabbing teen girls as young as 13 off the streets of Japan and occupied countries and forcing them into service as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.
The following YouTube clip of the "Apology" theatrical trailer perfectly conveys the themes and the tone of the film.
A valid desire for justice prompts these woman (who currently are in their late '80s and early '90s) to begin holding very public weekly protests in 1982; these demonstrations are intended to get the Japanese government to formally apologize to the women and to award them reparations. "Apology" devoting a significant amount of time to the 2,000th demonstration a few years ago illustrates the fortitude of both sides.
Documentarian Tiffany Hsiung focusing on three of the grandmas, who include Grandma Cao in China, puts a very human face on the subject. Grandma Gil in South Korea tells of her angst relating of never telling her husband about that portion of her life before she dies; she also discusses being born and abducted in North Korea but ending up in South Korea and unable to reunite with her family.
Grandma Adela in the Philippines recounts her sudden abduction, She additionally provides a tour of the (now-dilapidated) building that is the site of her imprisonment. Hearing her tell the story of being 14 and confined in a dark room where soldiers would enter and rape her is horrific.
We further see these very fierce (in the good sense) women and their fellow rape survivors push their physical and mental limits to attend the demonstrations and other events that support their cause. This occurring in the face of counter-protesters heaping toxic verbal abuse that no senior ever should have to hear.
The film ends on the same mixed notes of hope and sadness that reflect both the subject and the tone of "Apology." One hopes that the remaining Grandmas get some peace in the few years that they have left.
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