The Human Condition
Running Time: 9 hours, 47 minutes
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Staring:Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, et al.
Written by Jumpei Gomikawa (novel), and Koichi Inagaki (writer)
Ningen no joken I (The Human Condition Part I: No Greater Love) (+ co-sc); Ningen no joken II (The Human Condition Part II: Road to Eternity) (+ co-sc)
1961 Ningen no joken III (The Human Condition Part III: A Soldier's Prayer) (+ co-sc)
Did you ever hear a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find there was no advantage in them? that [sic] is was a vain endeavor?
-Thoreau, Henry David
The story follows the life of Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai, Seven Samurai), a pacifist, and a fierce egalitarian. He marries his long time girlfriend, Michiko (Michiyo Aratama). Kaji is offered and reluctantly accepts a management position, at a mine in Japanese-colonized Manchuria (with a military exemption). At the mine, he is put in charge of Chinese POWs. These prisoners provide slave labor for the mining operation. His superiors and coworkers believe that he is a little too nice to the prisoners. Kaji manages to meet quotas in spite of what everyone else thinks. Eventually, he gets blamed for letting prisoners escape at night. It seems his coworkers are conspiring with the Chinese prisoners in a rather profitable venture. Some of Kaji's workers are falsely accused of trying to escape. In a matter of moments, Kaji ends up getting shipped off for mandatory military service.
Kaji finds himself at boot camp. The training is incredibly difficult; a fellow soldier seems to have things especially difficult. A nerdy-looking guy, a man who fails at almost everything he attempts. The situation is similar in many ways to "Gomer Pyle's" in Full Metal Jacket. Kaji tries showing him a bit of compassion, but it’s not nearly enough to save him from his utter demise.
During boot camp, there is a brief reunion. He and his wife meet at the barracks. They spend one night together and part in the morning.
Part II of the film concludes with, Kaji finding himself on the front lines fighting against the Soviet Union, most of his unit is defeated. Part III starts with him wandering around aimlessly with a couple other people. They encounter people in the forest just barely surviving. These people follow him for a while, looking for a strong leader to show them the way.
He eventually gives up, and surrenders to the Russians. As a POW, Kaji finds himself in a labor camp. He escapes and attempts to make it home to his wife.
This film was shown in three installments. It took 3 weeks, 2 popcorns, 3 sodas, and a bag of M&Ms to finish. It seemed much shorter, surprisingly. All of the characters are complex, and have even more complex dilemmas to deal with. The film was focused on Kaji though. One could only speculate the backgrounds of the other characters. Kaji was made taller than other characters to serve a symbolic purpose. It reminds me of Gulliver's Travels, a giant being brought down by "tiny men". Kaji only wanted to return to comfortable family life, that was his beacon of hope through the later two-thirds of the movie. At the same time, it appears that remaining virtuous is the most important thing to him.
The director seems to focus on the darker side of human nature, but he also has a more positive message to send the audience; good people will always find company where ever they find themselves. All in all, the audience is not beat on the head with preachy political or philosophical messages; instead the filmmaker leaves people to draw their own conclusions. The human condition is subjective after all.
I could go on and on about this movie. An entire dissertation could be written on it, and one probably has been. This is one of the finest films ever made, period. The film is expensive to buy on DVD; it really shouldn't be considering the poor picture quality. I would wait until next year, when the Criterion Collection releases it.
Final Verdict: 98.6 out of a possible 100 points
