Review #767 - Burmese Harp, The (1956)
THE SCOOP
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Cast: Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi
Plot: 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.
Genre: Drama / Music / War
Awards: Won OCIC Award San Giorgio Prize, Nom. for Golden Lion (Venice). Nom. for 1 Oscar - Best Foreign Film.
Runtime: 116min&
Rating: PG
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Why must the world suffer such misery? Why must there be such inexplicable pain?”
Kon
Ichikawa led a long life. He passed away only four years ago at a ripe old age
of 92. His body of work was extremely diverse, yet he was most remembered for a
handful of films such as Fires on the Plains (1959), The Makioka Sisters (1983) and The Inugami Family (1976), which
was remade by Ichikawa himself in his final film Murder of the Inugami Clan (2006).
But
the film that launched him into international reckoning and established him as
an important Japanese filmmaker, though not quite in the same breath as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji
Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu, was The Burmese Harp.
Lyrical,
musical, and poetic all at once, The
Burmese Harp snatched a couple of awards at the Venice Film Festival more
than half a century ago. Although it is often regarded as Ichikawa’s most
acclaimed film, I feel that the film is slightly overrated for a number of
reasons.
However,
it remains to be a powerful anti-war film, and considering the fact that it was
made only a decade after Japan’s defeat in WWII, The Burmese Harp is apparently a strong statement of intent by a
native filmmaker to reflect on the sheer human loss as a result of his nation’s
instigation of war.
Musically
rich with many scenes of choral singing, The
Burmese Harp centers on a platoon of Japanese soldiers stationed in Burma,
who has surrendered to the British forces a few days after the end of WWII. One
of the soldiers, Mizushima (Shoji Yasui) plays a kind of Burmese harp while his
fellow mates sing along.
When
tasked to persuade a group of Japanese soldiers to surrender, Mizushima fails
and ends up adopting the looks and lifestyle of a Buddhist monk to survive,
away from his platoon mates who are kept in a prisoners-of-war camp. Soon, he
begins to be disenchanted with the war’s toll on humanity, and decides that a
life of peace, enlightenment, and redemption is the best way to ease one’s and
others’ sufferings.
Gorgeously
shot, The Burmese Harp may sometimes
feel too preachy about standing by the ideals of morality. The frequent (and
spontaneous) singing of songs do help the film to find some sort of rhythm
despite the slow pacing, though there are a few instances that sees Ichikawa
guilty of over-dramatization, if not through the film’s original score, then
through dialogue.
The
performances are excellent though, and from the film’s occasionally depressing
imagery, the mood that is created is one of reflection and consolation. The Burmese Harp can be emotionally
manipulating, but its anti-war message comes across devastatingly loud and
clear.
Verdict: Gorgeously shot, this music-driven Ichikawa film is powerful, though it does it in an overstated way.
GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)
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