The Burmese Harp was originally intended as a color film. [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. The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no tategoto, a.k.a. They just wanted to return home - though they would find that home hardly existed as they knew it before the war.Yes, I may be in debt to The Burmese Harp for saving me from the incoherent ramblings of a loud and proud party animal, but I also legitimately enjoyed it on almost every level. It is also one of the first Japanese movies to receive critical acclaim in the United States. I scurried to the far back to make sure that I could secure a seat by myself and far away from these strangers.My efforts were in vain because one of them spotted my fraternity letters and found it necessary to try and sit next to me. [2] Ichikawa likened his desire to make the film to "a call from the heavens". [11], It was Ichikawa's first film released internationally, but the 143-minute film was condensed to 116 minutes, reputedly at Ichikawa's objection. She returns the next day with another parrot that says "No, I cannot go back". I am a big fan. Myanmar (English pronunciation below; Burmese: မြန်မာ) or Burma (Burmese: ဗမာ), officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is a country in Southeast Asia. Captain Inouye and his men are wondering what happened and cling to a belief that Mizushima is still alive. The Inugami Effect (The Inugami Family (1976) by Kon Ichikawa – Inugami (2001) by Masato Harada, Film Review: Youth (1968) by Kon Ichikawa, Joshua Reviews Kon Ichikawa’s An Actor’s Revenge [Blu-ray Review], 35 Films from the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema. In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. After retreating to the British, the soldier - Mizushima - is sent to try and convince another Japanese troop to surrender. Was this review helpful to you? I answered - "a black and white Japanese anti-war movie made in 1956". The Burmese Harp - Rent Movies and TV Shows on DVD and Blu-ray. 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. In fact, it seemed like the majority of the communication was presented through song. A seriously ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a "miracle" drug that begins to affect his sanity. 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. Add the first question. garykmcd. ", adapted in Japan as "Hanyo no yado". [2] For a screenplay, Ichikawa turned to his wife Natto Wada, who wrote it alone and at a fast pace, but based on her husband's concepts. He fails in doing this and the entire troop is eventually killed by British forces. The cinematography is simple and the landscaping of Burma is vast and magnificent looking. At a camp, a British captain asks Mizushima to talk down a group of soldiers who are still fighting on a mountain. [5], Buddhism is a major theme in the film, with a monk saying "Burma is Buddha's country. A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends. While many of the men carry homemade musical instruments, Corporal Mizushima's homemade Burmese harp is the soul of the group. Mizushima begs for them to surrender but they do nothing. [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. 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. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. The Burmese Harp is set against the backdrop of war. [3], Ichikawa met with Takeyama to discuss the story, and was surprised when Takeyama revealed he had never been to Burma, having fought in China during the war. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. What really makes it stand out is that it was the first example of an anti-World War II statement being made by the Japanese through cinema. [6] In his 2013 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave the film three and a half stars, calling it an "extraordinary antiwar drama". [17] In 2007, Dave Kehr wrote in The New York Times that despite appearing sentimental, the film "has a clarity of purpose and a simplicity of execution that make it still appealing". "You're a frat boy, you may enjoy some of my stories". The second part, running 80 minutes, was released on 12 February, with both parts as double features screened with B movies. Directed by Kon Ichikawa. Director: Kon Ichikawa Toshio Masuda. They have an old woman villager take it to a monk they suspect is Mizushima in hiding. Full moon night played by Nay wah.It was composed by a Great Harpist named U Myint Maung. Although this is not adapted in the film, Ichikawa explored the topic in his 1959 film Fires on the Plain. However, Russell argues that Mizushima's Buddhism, in his salute of graves and use of distinctly Japanese boxes, remains a form of Japanese nationalism. Bock also emphasized the friendship between the soldiers. A Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan. [15] In 1996, Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times hailed it as "one of the great anti-war films". 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. "[10], In Japan, Nikkatsu, the studio that commissioned the film, released the first part of the film on 21 January 1956, running 63 minutes. The Burmese Harp has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the images look excellent, replicating the elegant cinematography of Minoru Yokoyama without missing a single missing. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. The Burmese Harp is about a Japanese soldier stationed in Burma during the days immediately following the end of World War II. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms. 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. This leads to Mizushima, and his harp, being separated from his fellow soldiers and he is now left to roam the countryside of Burma. Storyline Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. The group learns the war is over when Mizushima plays "Hanyo no yado", with the British joining in by singing "Home! The Burmese Harp is a prime example of emotional affliction within a film. The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no tategoto, a.k.a. He has developed a love for playing the harp and uses it to signal danger to his troop. As we walks, he meets a spiritual leader and realizes the devastatingly high amount of Japanese casualties caused by the violence of World War II. The film was among the first to sho… Much of the film was shot in Yasui, Hakone and the Izu Peninsula in Japan. The Burmese Harp saved the day.Little did I know that this movie would not only save me from two hours of annoyance, but it would also be an extremely rewarding viewing experience. 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. The Burmese Harp was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1956 Academy Awards and also received praise at the Venice Film Festival, as well as in recognition in Japan. It's available to watch. 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. Sweet Home!". The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no tategoto, a.k.a. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. After the platoon surrenders they are taken in as prisoners of war. A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops. They beat him unconscious and leave him on the floor. Yukinojo, a Kabuki actor, seeks revenge by destroying the three men who caused the deaths of his parents. I immediately bought the Criterion DVD. Private Mizushima has acquired a Burmese harp that he plays while the men of his unit sing on the march. Kon Ichikawa crafts a war film unlike any other film about war. 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 … [8] Shots of full moons invoke Buddhist symbols of awakening. Fast, free delivery. It is a beautiful instrument that compliments the smooth visuals.The story is also vividly entertaining in is simplicity. The type of reverence that commands the viewer and speaks to their soul. From Wings to Parasite, here's a look back at all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in the history of the ceremony. Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run. [3] Takeyama explained he planned to write about China, but the music he referenced in his story was not commonly found there. Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future. [9], Music is also used in the film to represent the unity between cultural groups and enemies. [16], In 2002, the BBC commented The Burmese Harp was "one of the first films to portray the decimating effects of World War II from the point of view of the Japanese army". Title: 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. 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. That tradition, developed over several centuries in Burma's royal courts, exhibits the restraint, subtlety, and elegance of many aristocratic traditions - but in an idiom uniqely Burmese. Music, whether instrumental or vocal, plays a major role in the film. This background merely forms the take-off point for a quest into the incorporeal truth about suffering in the world. Eventually, they buy a parrot and teach it to say "Mizushima, let's go back to Japan together". [18], The novel The Burmese Harp includes a scene with cannibals in the war. Sweet Home! The Burmese Harp An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close of World War II and finds harmony through song. 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. I was told to shoot with that." Inouye's men learn that the war has ended with the Japanese surrender, and so they surrender to the British. After becoming separated from his platoon, a Japanese soldier dons a Buddhist monk’s robe and tends to the bodies of casualties strewn across the war-torn countryside 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. 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. "What 'cha watchin'" she asked. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms. A beautiful and moving film, Biruma no Tategoto (The Burmese Harp) is a terrific work by Mr. Ichikawa. The Burmese Harp was originally intended as a color film. Michio Takeyama's novel The Burmese Harp was popular, and director Kon Ichikawa was intrigued by the narrative, but was more interested in transforming the fairy tale tone to a realistic film, and secured Takeyama's permission. I was told to shoot with that." You should borrow it sometime... Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. One day, Mizushima steals the monk's robe and shaves his head so that he will not be spotted as a soldier. After becoming separated from his platoon, a Japanese soldier dons a Buddhist monk's robe and tends to the bodies of the many war casualties strewn across the countryside. This FAQ is empty. The film was among the first to show the losses of the war from a Japanese soldier's perspective. 115m/B VHS, DVD. 1956 116 min . You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Harp of Burma) is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. Ichikawa also told Shoji Yasui to lose weight to portray the underfed character. The sound of the harp is soothing and easy on the ears. It was easy to see that the filmmaker was not interesting in a mass amount of dialogue. The 16 strings of the Burmese horizontal, arched harp are tuned in pentatonic octaves over a range of two‐and‐a‐half octaves. Sweet Home! [22], Ichikawa remade The Burmese Harp in 1985, starring Kiichi Nakai and Kōji Ishizaka. We forget that everybody is hurt by war, and that the lines are not always as clear as good versus evil. He sees the bodies of thousands of soldiers with his own eyes. For almost an hour I was subjected to their countless stories about meaningless sex, Lady Gaga and the "pounding of shots" that they were so excited to soon be doing in the windy city. [13], The film's initial release was met with positive reviews. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. His playing is also used as a way to raise moral in the lonely mountains of Burma. The Burmese Harp Watch The Burmese Harp starring Shôji Yasui in this Military/War on DIRECTV. In the closing days of WWII remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain starvation. Though I was watching it on my laptop, I was still in awe of the Criterion DVD quality and the flawlessness of the hushed black and white. Criterion continues to demonstrate their devotion to the windowboxed format. Re-made by Ichikawa in 1985. Image/Sound. When they are offered shelter in a village, they eventually realize they are being watched by British and Indian soldiers. At the end of WWII, a Japanese soldier is spiritually traumatized and becomes obsessed with burying the masses of war casualties. [3], Ichikawa hoped to make the film in color, but color cameras were too big, and thus costly, to be moved to Burma. He climbs up to the cave and informs their commander that the war has ended and they should surrender. Set against the final days of World War II, The Burmese Harp portrays the experiences of a group of exhausted, war-scarred Japanese soldiers as they prepare to return to Japan. [1] It was screened at the Venice International Film Festival in August 1956, where it received an ovation. Although he has had no formal training in music, he is a natural talent, arranging pieces for the men and accompanying their singing. As I sitting there, I was joined by a group of stereotypical sorority girls from Illinois State University. Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. Last Thursday night I was sitting in a tiny Amtrak station in Bloomington, Illinois waiting for my train to take me to my beautiful girlfriend in Chicago. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? 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. Harp of Burma) is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. After hearing this, it did not take her long to jump out of her seat and rejoin her group of woo-girls. [12] The film was released on DVD in Region 1 by The Criterion Collection in March 2007. Loading. Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama, The Burmese Harp stars a Japanese platoon stationed in Burma whose choir skills are inspired by their star musician, Private Mizushima (Rentaro Mikuni), who strums his harp to cheer the homesick soldiers. In 1985, Ichikawa remade The Burmese Harp in color with a new cast, and the remake was a major box office success, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1985 and the second largest Japanese box office hit up to that time. [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. The film, remade in color in 1985, features many tropes of Kon’s work, … 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. She also gives the captain a letter, that explains that Mizushima has decided not to go back to Japan with them, because he must continue burying the dead while studying as a monk and promoting the peaceful nature of mankind. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1956. [23][24] It drew an audience of 3.87 million people, then the second largest Japanese box office hit. Shôji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, … Both films were major successes. The men in the Japanese army had families, kids and dreams of their own. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. The Burmese Harp 1956 (720p) ビルマの竪琴. 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. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. [2] The harp featured in the film is a prop, rather than a true instrument,[4] with the song used in the film being "Home! Watch The Burmese Harp Online Full Movie and DownloadThe Burmese Harp full hd with English and Spanish subtitle. Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. MCU fans, here are some streaming picks to watch while you wait for the next episode of "The Falcon and the Winter Solider.". A searing, acclaimed anti-war statement, in Japanese with English subtitles. Filter movies . They retrieve their ammunition, then see the advancing force. He agrees to do so and is told by the captain that he has 30 minutes to convince them to surrender. The Burmese Harp (Biruma no Tategoto), by Japanese director Kon Ichikawa, was nominated for the 1957 Academy Award (Oscars) in the newly-created 'Best Foreign Language Film' category. Written by His playing is also used as a way to raise moral in the lonely mountains of Burma. 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. It is what puts the medium of film on par with all of the other classical arts. 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. [2], Ichikawa rigorously followed his storyboards in shooting the film. 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. 8 of 12 people found this review helpful. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. [13] That year, film critic Tony Rayns called it the "first real landmark in his career". This fact alone should be a recommendation. The Burmese Harp is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The remake was a major financial success and was the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1985. [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. 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. Also involved are the daughter of one of Yukinojo's targets, two master thieves, and a swordsman who himself is out to kill Yukinojo. Home » Drama » The Burmese Harp 1956. [1] Its release in English language countries came before the novel was first translated to English. Use the HTML below. He has developed a love for playing the harp and uses it to signal danger to his troop.
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