Ten years after the end of WW2, Japan was on the verge of becoming one of the world’s economic powers, and remember the war had left the country in ruins, with everything to rebuild. Yet, the war was still a particular sensitive subject, lots of terrible memories & taboos there. And The Burmese Harp was among the first japanese films to directly deal with this subject.
The film is about a Japanese soldier who survives an attack, and decides to become a Buddhist monk, leaving the rest of unit, to walk all around Burma. Realizing the consequences of war. With a poetic, almost naive approach, The Burmese Harp is trying to make a general anti-war statement, without taking sides. But director Kon Ichikawa won’t be as gentle with the Japanese Army in his next war film, made three years later, Fires on the plain. Anyway, these are both masterpieces from Japan!
The film is available on DVD in the U.S & in the UK.
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