Rabbit in the Moon

There are two stories about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The first, the official story, tells of compliant citizens, rising above hardship to prove their unswerving loyalty to the country. The second story, one only whispered, tells of internees responding as disillusioned and angry individuals. Omori’s grippingly poetic documentary breaks with the authorized history, bringing to first light the courageous acts of protest and even rebellion that marked the internment. Meticulous research and charged testimony from former internees, including Omori’s sister, describe the camps at Heart Mountain, Manzanar, Poston, and Tule Lake, as well as the political rifts created in the incarcerated community, most visibly the conflicts between the generations of nisei and issei. Beautifully rendered, Rabbit in the Moon bravely lifts the gag that once muted a culture’s voice of anger.