This background merely forms the take-off point for a quest into the incorporeal truth about suffering in the world. A-Z list. The film was among the first to sho… When a Japanese platoon surrenders to British forces in Burma in 1943, the platoon's harp player, Mizushima (Shôji Yasui), is selected from the prisoners of war to deliver a request for surrender to a Japanese regiment holed up on a mountain. Based on a children's novel of the same name written by Michio Takeyama, it tells the story of Japanese soldiers who fought in the Burma Campaign during World War II. Ichikawa recalled, "Daiei studio was using Kodak Eastmancolor film but Nikkatsu [studio] was using Japanese Konicolor stock which required one strip of film for each primary color. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. Loading. Sweet Home! Re-made by Ichikawa in 1985. Directed by Kon Ichikawa. This FAQ is empty. Although this is not adapted in the film, Ichikawa explored the topic in his 1959 film Fires on the Plain. [3], Ichikawa hoped to make the film in color, but color cameras were too big, and thus costly, to be moved to Burma. Full moon night played by Nay wah.It was composed by a Great Harpist named U Myint Maung. Fast, free delivery. [4] Singing improves the spirits in Inouye's group, with Inouye trained in music while Mizushima is self-taught in the Burmese harp, an instrument particularly associated with Burma. Mizushima never condemns Japanese military policy for the fanatical suicide stand of an entire unit, but his decision not to return to Japan after the war is his personal attempt at redress. He wrote it would be impossible for Ichikawa to know about the scale of Japanese war crimes soldiers inflicted in countries such as Burma, with academic Joan Mellen accusing the film of whitewashing. The film was among the first to show the losses of the war from a Japanese soldier's perspective. He decides to ask for more time from the British, but when he creates a surrender flag, the others take it the wrong way and believe he is surrendering for them. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Watch The Burmese Harp starring Shôji Yasui in this Military/War on DIRECTV. The group learns the war is over when Mizushima plays "Hanyo no yado", with the British joining in by singing "Home! Sweet Home!". The head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous. He begins a journey to the camp in Mudon where his comrades were sent. Inouye's men learn that the war has ended with the Japanese surrender, and so they surrender to the British. At the mountain, he is almost shot by the hold-out soldiers before they realize he is Japanese. They have an old woman villager take it to a monk they suspect is Mizushima in hiding. However, Russell argues that Mizushima's Buddhism, in his salute of graves and use of distinctly Japanese boxes, remains a form of Japanese nationalism. [13] That year, film critic Tony Rayns called it the "first real landmark in his career". garykmcd. The commander confers with the other soldiers, and they unanimously decide to fight to the end. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops. Full moon night played by Nay wah.It was composed by a Great Harpist named U Myint Maung. [2], Ichikawa rigorously followed his storyboards in shooting the film. With Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi, Jun Hamamura. 1-month free trial! The type of reverence that commands the viewer and speaks to their soul. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms. After the platoon surrenders they are taken in as prisoners of war. 13 of 16 people found this review helpful. 1956 116 min . Mizushima begs for them to surrender but they do nothing. The Burmese Harp was originally intended as a color film. Mizushima is helped to recover from his injuries by a monk. He states in the letter that if he finishes burying all the fallen soldiers' bodies, then he may return to Japan. Harp of Burma) is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. Private Mizushima, a Japanese soldier, becomes the harp (or saung) player of Captain Inouye's group, composed of soldiers who fight and sing to raise morale in the World War II Burma Campaign. THE BURMESE HARP is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar statements, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy. Part of the mastery of The Burmese Harp lies in the subtlety of its anti-war message. Captain Inouye and his men are wondering what happened and cling to a belief that Mizushima is still alive. At the end of WWII, a Japanese soldier is spiritually traumatized and becomes obsessed with burying the masses of war casualties. Home » Drama » The Burmese Harp 1956. … Finding many corpses of dead Japanese soldiers along the way, he decides to bury them. In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. After the platoon surrenders they are taken in as prisoners of war. Check out some the surprise hits of 2021 that caught the attention of IMDb fans and are all available to stream now. A translation of the novel into English by Howard Hibbett was published in 1966 by Charles E. Tuttle Company in cooperation with UNESCO (ISBN 0-8048-0232-7). Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future. A member of the group goes missing after the war, and the soldiers hope to uncover whether their friend survived, and if he is the same person as a Buddhist monkthey see playing a harp. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Michio Takeyama, The Burmese Harp's simple, almost fable-like narrative follows a division of exhausted Japanese soldiers stationed in Burma, who struggle to keep their spirits and humanity alive by singing. He climbs up to the cave and informs their commander that the war has ended and they should surrender. When they are offered shelter in a village, they eventually realize they are being watched by British and Indian soldiers. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. Harp of Burma) is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film, remade in color in 1985, features many tropes of Kon’s work, … 115m/B VHS, DVD. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. Add the first question. Private Mizushima has acquired a Burmese harp that he plays while the men of his unit sing on the march. [24], Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, List of submissions to the 29th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1985-nen", Voted #20 on The Arts and Faith Top 100 Films (2010), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Burmese_Harp_(1956_film)&oldid=997675511, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 January 2021, at 18:15. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms. The Burmese Harp ★★★★ Harp of Burma; Birumano Tategoto 1956. Based on a children's novel of the same name written by Michio Takeyama, it tells the story of Japanese soldiers who fought in the Burma Campaign during World War II. 187,045 talking about this. Husband and wife Gorô and Chiyo, and their only offspring, an infant son named Tarô, go through the ups and downs of family life living in a cramped modern apartment building in suburban ... See full summary », Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. Director: Kon Ichikawa Toshio Masuda. In the closing days of WWII remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain starvation. The Burmese Harp 1956 (720p) ビルマの竪琴. Both films were major successes. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1956. Re-made by Ichikawa in 1985. The remake was a major financial success and was the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1985. [1] Dr. John Henry Smihula further argued the quote "Burma is Buddha's country" could mean that Japanese imperialism is at the root of the suffering of all characters in the film, as Burma belongs only to Buddha and neither Japan nor Britain. In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. [5] Professor Ronald Green argues that Mizushima's mission as a monk to bury Japanese soldiers is a pilgrimage, in which his mounds resemble Buddhist stupas, and his practice of saluting the graves is reminiscent of Buddhist rituals at stupas. The Burmese Harp, just as the titular instrument suggests songs without filling them out, is a slight film that suggests the heavy human toll of war without actually presenting it. Both films were major successes. THE BURMESE HARP is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar statements, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy. [12] The film was released on DVD in Region 1 by The Criterion Collection in March 2007. Much of the film was shot in Yasui, Hakone and the Izu Peninsula in Japan. Criterion continues to demonstrate their devotion to the windowboxed format. 1956 116 min . He agrees to do so and is told by the captain that he has 30 minutes to convince them to surrender. I was told to shoot with that." Eventually, they buy a parrot and teach it to say "Mizushima, let's go back to Japan together". Sweet Home! A member of the group goes missing after the war, and the soldiers hope to uncover whether their friend survived, and if he is the same person as a Buddhist monk they see playing a harp. View production, box office, & company info. Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. We let you watch movies online without having to register or … A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. As the troop surrenders to the British and is interred in Mudon prison camp, Mizushima escapes to be faced with not only his imminent death, but also the deaths of … As the troop surrenders to the British and is interred in Mudon prison camp, Mizushima escapes to be faced with not only his imminent death, but also the deaths of … A searing, acclaimed anti-war statement, in Japanese with English subtitles. Kon Ichikawa crafts a war film unlike any other film about war. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression. Country: Japan. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The Burmese Harp [9], Music is also used in the film to represent the unity between cultural groups and enemies. The cave is bombarded and Mizushima is the only survivor. [12][14] In 1993, film scholar Audie Bock praised Ichikawa's use of "the Burmese landscape and the eerie power of its Buddhist statuary and architecture to sustain the mood of Mizushima's conversion and the mystification of his Japanese comrades." Although he has had no formal training in music, he is a natural talent, arranging pieces for the men and accompanying their singing. She returns the next day with another parrot that says "No, I cannot go back". "[10], In Japan, Nikkatsu, the studio that commissioned the film, released the first part of the film on 21 January 1956, running 63 minutes. While many of the men carry homemade musical instruments, Corporal Mizushima's homemade Burmese harp is the soul of the group. Harp of Burma is Japan's haunting answer to Germany's famous requiem for the First World War, All Quiet on the Western Front. ပြည်သူများအတွက် အကျိုးရှိ သော သတင်းများကို ရေးသားတင်ဆက် နေသည့် သတင်းဌာန တစ်ခုဖြစ်ပါသည်။ Myanmar (English pronunciation below; Burmese: မြန်မာ) or Burma (Burmese: ဗမာ), officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is a country in Southeast Asia. His ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival. From Wings to Parasite, here's a look back at all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in the history of the ceremony. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no tategoto), also known as Harp of Burma, is a children's novel by Michio Takeyama. Filter movies . 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