Dr. Akagi (1998) [Film Review]

Dr. Akagi- or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Cure Hepatitis! 

      Being a family doctor is all legs. One leg broken, he'll run on the other. Both legs broken, he'll run on his hands. Exhausted, he runs. Asleep, he runs. Even averse to running, he'll run his life away.

Release Info

Directed by: Shohei Imamura Starring: Akira Emoto, Kumiko Aso, Jacques Gamblin, Juro Kara
Language: Japanese Original Title: Kanzō Sensei Runtime: 116 min

Plot

It’s the year 1945 after the capitulation of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, Japan is still fighting and refuses to surrender. On a small island, in the Seto Inland Sea area, Dr. Akagi (Akira Emoto) is a family doctor who is constantly on the run between his suffering patients. Due to his frequent diagnoses of hepatitis, he was nicknamed “Dr. Liver” by the local community. Nevertheless, Dr. Akagi is right with his observations and takes up a quest in order to fight off spreading epidemic on the island, while waiting for return of his son from the front. Yet, things get complicated when one day an injured prisoner of war shows up at Akagi’s place begging for help.

Saving Doctor Akagi

As direct the movie title may seem, it is does not only treat about the main hero of the picture. Rather, it is an in-depth study of village social life on an isolated island. Apart from Akagi we also get to know Tomiko (Keiko Matsuzaka) who’s running a military inn, monk Umemoto (Juro Kara) who loves to drink sake, surgeon Toriumi (Masanori Sera) who is a morphine addict, and young Sonoko (Kumiko Aso) who is an expert at promiscuity. All these peculiar individuals constitute a world completely withdrawn from the raging worldwide war. It is, in fact, an image of old Japan that undergoes an irreversible change at the very end of the film.

Dr. Akagi himself is the representative of that old order due to his profession. He is a doctor whose job is healing people. That’s why he struggles to find a cure for hepatitis, although very few people believe his claims. Perhaps, the most interesting scene of the movie is the one of a medical conference in Tokyo. There, the village world of Akagi sharply collides with uptown existence of governmental claqueurs who praise Akagi’s research, but do absolutely nothing to help him out.

Extremely engaging are also war themes who appear in the background of this picture. Apart day-to-day quarrels with military officials over the usage of glucose, Akagi impatiently awaits the arrival of his son (also a medical doctor) from Manchuria. Meanwhile, he hears a rumour that Japanese physicians might have been involved in experimenting on the Chinese people with contagious diseases (which later proved to be true). Additionally, Akagi befriends with Piet (Jacques Gamblin), a runaway POW who helps the doctor in his studies by fixing a microscope. In the final outcome of experienced war atrocities and people he encountered, Akagi realises that he cannot save the whole world and resolves the withdraw to his ordinary role of a family doctor.

Shohei Imamura provided a brilliant case study of the Japanese people during the Second World War and the movie’s anti-war message resonates more vibrantly than in, for instance, Spielberg’s memorable Empire of the Sun (1987). The film initially starts on a comedic note, but don’t get fooled. It’s a serious drama with an excellent performance of Akira Emoto in the leading role and other supporting actors. The directing is, obviously, brilliant; nevertheless, the pacing of the story may seem at times uneven. The music score is also very good, but not exceptional.

Recommendations

I safely recommend this Japanese motion picture to everyone who is not only into anti-war dramas, but also likes thought-provoking pictures with vivid characters and a great deal of symbolism. In other words, Dr. Akagi simply delivers.

Overall score: 8/10