Film Review: The Burmese Harp

The Burmese Harp (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)
In Japanese with English subtitles

 World War II comes to an end. Japan is defeated. In the wastelands of Burma, a group of Japanese soldiers (captained by a man who is a choirmaster in civilian life) willingly surrender and are held captive by British forces. One of these soldiers (Mizushima) volunteers to convince another group of Japanese soldiers, still hiding in the nearby mountains, to surrender, but he has to do it in a limited time. He fails; the British forces attack the hideout with bombs.  Mizushima is left for dead.

 I’ve seen films that highlight the atrocities caused by Japanese soldiers during World War II and about soldiers who would rather die than face their emperor and compatriots with shame when they return home. But in this film soldiers want to return home to help rebuild their war-ravaged country.

So what happens to Mizushima? When he shows up outside the prison camp, he’s dressed as a Buddhist monk. How and why it happens, and what will happen to him are the things that make the film memorable and uplifting.

So, what’s with the Burmese harp? Mizushima is not much of a talker. He expresses himself in terms of the music he plays using the harp. Music plays an integral part of the film. Actually, all of them soldiers express unity in terms of music. Remember, their captain is a choirmaster in civilian life.

This film is a reminder that the all-time greatest films that come from Japan had been made not only by the usual suspects (Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Kenjie  Mizoguchi) but also, in my opinion, by Kon Ichikawa.  The Burmese Harp (1956) is the first film by Ichikawa that I’ve seen (so far) and I’m very much impressed. This is definitely the most “beautiful” anti-war war film I’ve seen.

Rating: 4.0/4.0