Captive Hearts (1987) Reviews

In this WWII melodrama, a young pilot captured by the Japanese falls in love with a village woman. Robert (Chris Makepeace) is shot down over wartime Japan. Village elder Fukushima (Pat Morita) saves him from execution. Over time, Robert wins over the village people, particularly young widow Miyoko (Mari Sato). This simple melodrama, directed by Paul Almond and beautifully photographed by Thomas Vamos in the Canadian mountains, is a rather simple-minded and clichéd love story. Mari Sato is lovely as the pure Japanese woman who is perhaps a little to sweet to be entirely believable. Makepeace is a stilted wooden actor who can do little with his role except look attractive. Captive Hearts, simple and well-meaning, needs a little bit more depth to make the story interesting. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi