The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On; or, Divine Intervention You're
not the only one being punished. I almost starved to death in New
Guinea. My wife got injured in an accident. I killed someone I didn't
want to kill. If a misfortune befalls you, it means you deserve it. Kazuo
Hara’s The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches from 1987 is one of the few
documentaries that stood the test of time. I became aware of it a couple
of years ago, but I was surprised to see it popping up on various
recommendations lists as well as on YouTube. Needless to say, an
interesting title and psychedelic poster were enough to get me
interested. Having seen it, I can safely say that it is one of the best
documentaries with an anti-war message out there.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: (ゆきゆきて、神軍 Runtime: 121 min
In contrast to many other
pictures of that genre, we do not get an extensive exposition or
narrative guidance. Thanks to short title cards, we are introduced to
the main protagonist, Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old war veteran, former
member of the 36th Battalion which took part in Japan’s campaign in New
Guinea during the Second World War. Okuzaki who literally survived hell
in New Guinea holds primarily one person responsible for the whole
ordeal, Emperor Hirohito. It is explained later on in the picture that
Okuzaki has served 13 years in prison for killing a real estate broker
(this charge is not entirely explained), spreading leaflets offending
the Emperor, and sling-shooting four pachinko balls at the Emperor.
However,
Okuzaki’s hate for the Emperor is not the main topic of the
documentary. The veteran is on a personal quest to find out the truth
behind the mysterious deaths of three soldiers from his battalion. Were
they killed under false pretences? Did they commit desertion? Why were
they executed 23 days after the war ended? Accompanied by relatives of
the victims and his own wife, Okuzaki relentlessly tracks down former
members of the battalion and confronts them about the killings in front
of a camera. Some tell the truth, others obviously lie, but a few speak
so chaotically that they indirectly confirm the relatives’ theory; that
is, the men in question were executed in order to be eaten by fellow
soldiers.
The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On tackles the taboo topic
of cannibalism during World War II. The Japanese garrisons had very
limited resources towards the end of the conflict, so they resorted to
either stealing food or killing “white pigs” (Allied soldiers) and
“black pigs” (the natives). If that did not work, they killed their own
men.
Kenzo Okuzaki may appear to be a frantic man who is unable to
control his temper (at times, he physically attacks ex-soldiers to get
the truth out of them), but he clearly states his intention. He wants
the viewers to hear the whole story so that no war would ever break out
in the future. The ultimate antagonist of the documentary appears to be
Captain Koshimizu who, as other soldiers confessed, personally killed
the privates. The captain, however, calmly denies doing such a thing.
The title card at the end of the documentary reveals that in 1985
Okuzaki tried to kill Koshimizu for his crimes, but he somehow shot the
captain’s son instead (who allegedly survived). Okuzaki was arrested and
sentenced to 12 years of hard labour. There is not much information on
the internet about him, apart from a note stating that he passed away
in 2005.
Kazuo Hara’s documentary undeniably shows that cultural
depictions of the Japanese participation in the Second World War are
only the tip of the iceberg. There are to date many issues left unsaid
and unresolved. The passage of time only makes things worse. Kenzo
Okuzaki states during one of the confrontations that if a person leads
an immoral life, he or she will eventually receive divine punishment.
Perhaps there is some truth in words of an individual who dared to
oppose the Emperor himself.
Recommendations I highly recommend The
Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On to anyone. Even if you are not
interested in history and World War II, you have to see the rare and
unscripted testimonies of people who looked into the abyss of darkness.
Indeed, this is one of the best documentaries ever made.
Overall score: 9/10
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Enemy personnel and unfriendly natives. A man fighting for
survival in a jungle is in no position to maintain prisoners of war. Destroy
them if they are captured. Immediately. Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Today, I would like to discuss an important, yet a bit
forgotten, movie from Toshiro Mifune’s filmography. One could say that it is
simply a Cast Away all over again, but John Boorman’s Hell in the Pacific is so
much more than Robinson Crusoe-scenario. Why? Because its anti-war message
hits you in the guts like a baseball bat. Release Info
Directed by: John BoormanStarring: Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune
Language: English, JapaneseRuntime: 103 min
Synopsis
World War II, Pacific Ocean. After one of the battles, an
American pilot (Lee Marvin) crashes near a desert island and reaches its
shore with a raft. It turns out that he is not the only inhabitant as the navy
captain Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune) also lost his unit. The two soldiers of the
opposing sides are trying to fight each other off. One enslaves the other and
vice versa. Only a long passage of time and harsh conditions on the island make
the two men realise that they need to cooperate in order to get out of this
natural hell. Therefore, despite the communication barrier, they join their
forces and proceed to building a raft.
For a second, I thought you were a Jap.
It took me quite a while in order to watch this movie as I
was expecting some depressing preaching about the war and its atrocities. However,
the movie was not made by ideological fanatics, but it was a British-Japanese
production. What is more, there are only two actors in the entire movie: Lee
Marvin and Toshiro Mifune. What an unexpected duo that works so well together.
This was the third Boorman’s feature film and, as he stated
in an interview about the movie (which I highly recommend), he really wanted to
make a silent picture. Indeed, Hell in the Pacific has very little dialogue as
it relies on the actors’ expressions, visuals, and Lalo Schifrin’s haunting music
score.
The movie’s theme of enemies-to-the-death starts right off
the bat as Mifune’s character becomes aware of Lee’s presence on the island.
The two soldiers try to annihilate each in the midst of a rainy jungle on a
desert island. No dialogue and no voiceover could make this anti-war message
so powerful. The island and the Pacific is static, but a man will always fight
with the other man because the higher authority told him to do so.
Nevertheless, the wilderness of the island (very much a
third character in the movie) exposes their personalities and vulnerabilities.
Even though they do not understand themselves linguistically, they develop a
bond of friendship when trying to escape the island. In other words, with the
abandonment of civilisation, they stop perceiving themselves as enemies. Only after suffering the hardships of the ocean, when they
reach the “man’s land”, the two friends gradually regress into their positions
from beginning of the movie. Civilisation gets in the way again.
What can I say about the performances? This is a two-men
show, so both Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune do an extraordinary job with the
material they are given. In addition, John Boorman disclosed that the two actors
behaved like best buddies on the set, and such a positive chemistry is more
than visible on film. Needless to say, Marvin and Mifune were at their peak
when the movie was made (in 1967, the year before, Marvin starred in The Dirty
Dozen, whereas Mifune in Japan’s Longest Day).
A word about the ending
There are actually two endings of the movie existing. First
is the original, theatrical one (forced by the producers in the edit), when the
pilot and Kuroda have a falling out and a bomb shell hits their shelter. To me,
it is a very abrupt and out of the tone way to end this story. So, they
overcame so much hardships and struggles just to die from a freaking bomb?!
Nevertheless, an alternate ending was included in some of the home releases (please head here). I think it is a much more suitable but also way sadder ending as the
two friends part their ways in bitter resentment.
Recommendations
I checked out this movie purely for Mifune, but I was
surprised to discover such a hidden gem. If you have not seen it, go ahead and
watch it right now. My recommendation goes especially to those who are
interested in the WWII conflicts on the Pacific as quite a few motion pictures
were made about this topic. However, Hell in the Pacific is not just about the civilisational
conflict. Its universal message transcends the confines of the frames in which
the story was set. In other words, it all comes down to helping each other out.
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 ImamuraStarring: Akira Emoto, Kumiko Aso, Jacques Gamblin, Juro Kara Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: Kanzō SenseiRuntime: 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.
