Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Written by Natto Wada
Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama
Starring Rentaro Mikuni, Shoji Yasui, Jun Hamamura, Taketoshi Naito, Kō Nishimura
“The songs uplifted our spirits and sometimes our hearts.” - Captain Inouye
When I first decided to have a Hidden Gems section on this website, this film was one of the first to come to mind. I first saw it in 2005, and it had a significant impact on me. It was one of those films where you literally sit in silence afterward, awestruck at what you’ve just seen.
The 1956 film is directed by Japanese maestro Kon Ichikawa (some believe he’s in the same class as the indomitable Akira Kurosawa) and written by his wife Natto Wada. It focuses on an Imperial Japanese Army regiment in Burma towards the end of World War II. Led by Captain Inouye, the regiment’s (or what’s left of them) purpose is to boost morale through their fighting and singing. At the beginning of the film, they take refuge in a village and find out that they are being watched by British soldiers. The Brits overtake them and inform them that Japan has surrendered, but they still need their help. A group of Japanese soldiers are barricaded in a cave on a mountainside and refuse to surrender. Private Mizushima, Inouye’s harp player, volunteers. His efforts are futile and, eventually, artillery rains down on the cave leaving Mizushima as the only survivor. Mizushima is traumatized by the corpses around him and decides to help bury and pray for the dead. He accomplishes this task by stealing a robe from monk.
From there, the film moves back and forth from Mizushima and his new found mission to Captain Inouye as his men continue to look for Mizushima believing he’s still alive.
The Burmese Harp is a powerful film about atonement and the power of music. It’s no secret that Japan had a lot to atone for. Ironically, novelist Takeyama nor director Ichikawa were aware of their nation’s sins. At Criterion.com, British film critic Tony Rayns explains “Takeyama, writing in 1946, would not have been aware of the extent or magnitude of the Japanese war crimes committed in Burma and other countries. Such embarrassments have never been widely acknowledged or reported in Japan, and so it’s entirely possible that Ichikawa was equally unaware of them a decade later.”
The film is strongly Buddhist but its themes transcend religion, shining a light on hope in the midst of death. Rayns nails the central idea of the film when he ponders “Ichikawa anchors Mizushima’s gradual discovery of his own spirituality in that initial act of theft, a selfish crime that contains the seeds of the thief’s selfless future. For Ichikawa, Burma is, indeed, Buddha’s own land; he films mostly landscapes and temples, generally in wide-angle shots, always stressing the weight of the land and the places in the lives of the humans who pass through them.”
Yes, this is an old black and white film with subtitles. But, look beyond that if that’s not typically your bag. The film ends with the recitation of a letter, and that scene hit me like a sledgehammer. The letter expresses such unfathomable depths of selflessness, purpose, and conviction. This was truly a film ahead of its time. Please give it some of yours.
A bit of trivia - Kon Ichikawa died not too long ago - February of 2008 - at the age of 92.
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