Some Indonesians took issue with depictions of an old woman kissing Shimazaki's feet (a scene that Indonesian ambassador to Japan at the time, Soemadi Brotodiningrat, requested to be cut from the film), as well as scenes in which Indonesian trainees were slapped across the face by Japanese trainers. An article in Tempo argued that the film overplayed the Japanese role in Indonesia's national revolution. Goto writes that, lacking proper background knowledge of the Japanese occupation, audiences were likely to "carry away an unduly favorable impression of Japan's contribution to Indonesian independence".
