Kobayashi's monumental film can clarify and enrich your understanding of what it is to be alive. (A.O. Scott, New York Times) One of the towering masterpieces of Japanese and world cinema, this three-part war epic has rarely been seen in the UK, at least partly because of its dauntingly gargantuan nine-hour length. Director Masaki Kobayashi (Harakiri) was attracted to Junpei Gomikawa's source novel because he recognised himself in the character of the protagonist Kaji, a pacifist and socialist who came of age during the aggressively militaristic 1930s and 40s.... Following Kaji's career from factory worker to Japanese army private, Kobayashi unflinchingly examines the psychological toll of appallingly complex decisions made along the way, where being morally right' risks an outcome ranging from ostracism to savage beating to death. As Kaji, Tatsuya Nakadai (Sanjuro) is in virtually every scene, providing a rock-solid emotional anchor and a necessary one in Japan, where the film was hugely controversial for being openly critical of the nation's conduct during WWII. But it's this willingness to confront national taboos head-on that makes it such a lastingly powerful experience. [show more]
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Japanese wartime trilogy directed by Masaki Kobayashi which follows the journey of Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) from naïve labour camp supervisor to Imperial soldier and eventually to Soviet prisoner of war. In 'No Greater Love' (1959) Kaji struggles to deal with the harsh reality of forced labour and is enlisted into the army in order to remove his dissenting presence from the camp where he works. In 'Road to Eternity' (1959) Kaji leads a group of new recruits as they are attacked by the Soviets. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Japanese suffer huge casualties, leaving a demoralised Kaji to look for any survivors. Finally, 'A Soldier's Prayer' (1961) follows Kaji as he attempts to lead a band of injured soldiers and refugees away from the war zone. However, with no food or shelter and with advancing Soviet forces all around, Kaji and his group of survivors are captured and taken to a Soviet labour camp for interrogation.
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