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Masaki Kobayashi, the acclaimed director of Japanese classics such as “HARA-KIRI” and “Samurai Rebellion” has always made a distinguished stance against established authority. He made a scathing indictment of the “Code of Bushido” and criticized the arrangement samurai clans have treated its retainers and their families. Kobayashi’s “THE HUMAN CONDITION” is his mettlesome indictment of the war itself that criticizes established authority. Based on the unusual by Jumpei Gomikawa, this film trilogy is arguably Kobayashi’s finest films, its strong existential themes, the manner of which it exposes the aspects of safe and unfavorable, and the thin line between morality and immorality is truly masterful. The trilogy focuses on the exploits of Kaji during World War II. Kaji’s development as a man, as a husband, as a soldier, and later as a prisoner of war is brought to exposition by Masaki Kobayashi.
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Disc One: “No Greater Adore” (1959)
Kaji (Tatasuya Nakadai) is a young man who is a pacifist and a socialist. He marries his sweetheart Michiko (Michiyo Aratama) despite the uncertainties in the future. Kaji agrees to work as a mining supervisor in an iron and ore mining spot in Japanese-occupied Manchuria to avoid getting drafted to fight a war he doesn’t have in. Kaji becomes partly successful in reforming the working conditions in the mining dwelling, although his ideas are often contested by his superiors. Things become more complicated when Chinese prisoners of war are forced upon the station by the Kempeitai (military police) to employ as laborers. Kaji tries but fails to reconcile his humanistic theories with the realities of forced slave labor under Japan’s Imperial system.
Disc Two: “Road To Eternity” (1959)
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After the climactic confrontation with the Chinese prisoners caused Kaji to lose his exemption from being drafted in the military and the fact that Japan is losing the war which makes the country more desperate for military servicemen, Kaji is now a hardened idealist. Despite being trained to fight a war he doesn’t fill in, Kaji proves himself a first-rate soldier and tries to implement his humanistic idealism to the treatment of other enlisted men who are being brutalized by the veterans. The film reaches its unforgettable climax as Kaji is sent to the front line to fight off the advancing Soviet army.
Disc Three: “A Soldier’s Prayer” (1961)
The Japanese Kwantung army is shattered as Kaji, along with several survivors embark on an yarn promenade on foot through miles of forest, desert, and fields southward in the hopes of reuniting with his wife. After Kaji survives perils including starvation and untrustworthy allies, he gets captured by Soviet forces that echoes the treatment of the Chinese prisoners meted out by the Japanese in the first film. Kaji eventually becomes disappointed that communism which he hoped would be the catalyst for human liberation, seemed no different from the oppressive systems he had struggled against. Kaji escapes into the winter wasteland in the hopes of reuniting with his wife Michiko.
The Review:
Hailed as “One of the Greatest Films Ever Made”, “The Human Condition” is one film whose experience may seem inspirational but it also proves utterly depressing. This trilogy embodies both the flaws and strengths of humanity as it unrelentingly brings the faces of morality and decency into opposing sides against the natural instincts of men. The film may also exhibit to be inspirational as savor and decency seemingly tries to fetch a draw to survive amid the bleakness of whatever space fate may deal one into.
The First film is the longest film of the three as Kaji takes his theories to improve the working conditions of the mining position. This is Kaji at his purest earn as he tries to bring his theories into scheme. This is also where the main protagonists are faced with honest dilemmas as they try to weigh the rights and the wrongs. I loved the scenes when Kaji begins to inquire of himself for his absorb decisions and the more he gets deeper into the position with the Chinese prisoners, the more difficult it gets for him to face his wife. Kaji manages the rations and rewards the prisoners with prostitutes. The film makes a distinguished statement in pointing out the potential successes of working together as embodied by the Chinese, but mistrust and suspicion becomes the main opposition for two races to work together. It also bleakly portrays the two sides of human nature as there are those who would stand to profit or steal advantage of any set at the cost of others; as kindness and notion may sometimes point to to execute mixed results.
The second fragment of the film series portrays Kaji in the military, under suspicion because of his revolutionary ideas. The film exposes the politics in the military and the diagram, soldiers tend to mimic their superiors in the design they treat fresh recruits. In my concept, this piece is the most damaging vital indictment of the army. Kaji represents the reasonable side of the recount as he tries to protect the novel recruits whose ages range from 40 years and above. At times, the majority of the Japanese authority are too willing to turn a blind behold to the problems faced by the unique recruits as the veterans appear adamant in abusing them. The adage; “Survival of the Fittest” comes to mind, as Kaji is brought to the breaking point. Kobayashi also brings some visceral scenes of brutality and violence in this film. The Soviet near into China brings both veterans and fresh recruits on the same side as they try to work out their differences.
“Road To Eternity” also defines the word courage. Kaji’s main goal is to survive that may beget him seem a coward in the eyes of some but inside, he is mettlesome enough to admit that this fight is meaningless. For Kaji and his allies, it becomes disgraceful to die in a war like a dog. Kobayashi may also be making a commentary against blind obedience and that the Japanese army were more occupied in believing in their `honorable’ war, than facing reality that their goals may indeed point to to be unjust. For Kaji, fighting this battle is more for a fight for survival than fighting for his bear country.
“A Soldier’s Prayer” may well be the darkest and the most depressing installment of the three. While it does have its inspirational side, as it also exposes the strengths of humanity. Kaji finds reasons to hope, and to dream of freedom; in the hopes of reuniting with Michiko. This chapter also brings Kaji face to face with his morals as he is oftentimes forced to accomplish decisions for the salubrious of the many rather than the needs of the few. Children and veteran people have no situation in this world, as the group is faced with starvation. This chapter also brings the consequences of being on the losing side of the war, as Japanese refugees are left aimless, hungry as the women are raped and abused, not honest by Soviets but also by the Japanese themselves. There is a very disquieting sequence as a young girl retains of hope of reuniting with her parents despite being raped by the soldiers of the Red Army. She finds those hopes dashed when she becomes victimized by the very soldiers who were supposed to protect her. I found it hard to ogle some Japanese women offer themselves up as sex slaves to survive, at least until they can rep male protection.
I teach Kobayashi wanted to create a commentary on the manner that people tend to study out for themselves. It was dependable disturbing to gawk the Japanese prey on their beget countrymen, most specifically in the POW camp. It was quite murky to watch the Japanese prisoners become more abused by their fellow countrymen than by their enjoy captors. Kaji and Terada would catch food scraps to add to their rations, reported as sabotage by their Japanese superiors. Kaji tries to pause apt to his contain unwavering beliefs, but it is the substandard done by his absorb countrymen that pushes him over his limits. Enrage, envy, greed and pride are the film’s main themes as the prisoners of war become faced with a status worst than those experienced by the Chinese in the mining camps. Worst not because of the hardships, but made worst because of the fact that it is the Japanese abusing the Japanese.
Kaji is superbly portrayed by Tatsuya Nakadai. The man embodies the pride that one takes from himself, that pride slowly fades when forced into situations that makes him put a question to his possess soul. Education and principle are indeed virtues but one would never know impartial how one can react to a problem until faced with one. Other characters such as Okishima and Kageyama are also at the mercy of military policies and politics; even though they disagree with such policies, they unruffled give in. It is difficult to end proper to oneself when faced with a truly testing area. Michiko embodies the soul of the Japanese wife; legal and faithful. However, the film brings a positive inquire as to her accurate whereabouts. Did Michiko manage to elope or did she plunge prey to the tests of the flesh?
“The Human Condition” is Japanese cinema at its best. It is very difficult to sit through the film due to its very depressing themes but one has to also inspect that sometimes from such desperation, courage and honor may aloof be born. Masaki Kobayashi bravely brings the questions of humanity into exposition; in the face of such trials and hardships, can courage, decency and hope unruffled prevail?
A raw indictment of its nation’s wartime mentality as well as a personal existential tragedy, Kobayashi’s riveting, gorgeously filmed yarn is novelistic cinema at its best.
Highest Possible Recommendation! [5 Stars]
The Criterion release sports a nice anamorphic transfer and has a mono track in discs one and two, disc 3 has a 2.0 Dolby Digital track.
September 2009 revised release date. The films and peformances themselves are covered in countless reviews more eloquently than I ever could here. My comments are not based on the final release that is pending, so my apologies for those who abominate reviews without product pick. I have previously owned the Image Entertainment individual single-disc editions of each share of the trilogy. I also viewed the entire trilogy during its 2008-2009 nationwide tour by Janus Films (peruse their link off the Criterion residence) and spoke in-person with Tatsuya Nakadai during his NYC visit. Given that the 4-disc release is expected to be based on the unique original 35mm prints, please know that the improvements on both audio, describe and subtitle qualities are essential. Do not win the earlier singe-disc editions.
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