The writers had a good grasp of history, and presented a balanced view of WWII events from both the Japanese and American points of view. The love story was a bit overdone, but Matthew Fox held his own against Tommy Lee Jones, which couldn't have been easy. The contrast between the relaxed, sometimes sloppy, smoking Americans, and the well-dressed, polite, and formal Japanese was well presented. The film was a careful study of the difficult process of achieving justice under stressful circumstances, with only limited knowledge of the facts.