Anyone who knows me should know my fascination for Burma (Myanmar) by now. It all began during my trip there earlier this year. Since then, I've gnawed my way through every book, travelogue, movie, documentary, that is Burma-related.
The latest addition to the list is The Burmese Harp, a 1956 black and white film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was based on a novel written by Michio Takeyama and definitely something I would recommend for those with a fascination of the country. Also for those with some sort of interest in WWII. However, I must say that if you're a fan of those typical war movies featuring tanks and machine guns, soldiers being presented as emotionless, conditioned killers eager for battle, look elsewhere. The Burmese Harp takes a different approach. It deals with war and it's effects, but there is very little battle footage. It has a more contemplative and pensive tone in describing how war can traumatize it's participants.
The film takes place at the end of WWII in Burma where a group of Japanese soldiers learn of theor nation's surrender. They are sent to a POW camp in a town called Mudon and one of them, Mizushima, is sent on a misson to inform another unit of the surrender and to convince them to stop fighting. The unit however, refuses to surrender and they are killed by the British army. Mizushima becomes the only survivor. He then takes the guise of a Buddhist monk and travels across the region to reunite with his unit. Along the way he encounters many deceased Japanese soldiers and tries to bury some of them. He gradually becomes obsessed with burying and honoring the dead and cannot find it in himself to go back to Japan with this unit, and ended up choosing a more spiritual life in Burma.
The Burmese Harp is a film which, even when dealing with war and all it's senseless tragedy, refuses to cheapen life and maintains the importance of death.
I know everyone is raving about Transformers and that Bruce Willis' Live Free or Die Hard... I've been told they're 'good', 'awesome', 'fantastic'. While they may be entertaining (and mind numbing?) , there are more substantial movies out this summer like A Mighty Heart and Sicko. These are brilliant, and worth standing ovations. Watch them!
0 comments:
Post a Comment