My Favourites - The Burmese Harp

http://passionforcinema.com/the-burmese-harp/


(Warning! - Spoiler Alert!)
I have gone back on my word. I wanted to continue on sharing more movies of Masaki Kobayashi as I had mentioned before. But, I changed my mind. I think this way, I can share a variety of movies with varied topics and hopefully keep you all interested for the next one.

The Burmese Harp is directed by Kon Ichikawa in 1956. It is an anti-war movie, one of the major themes that the Japanese directors dealt with especially, after the horrible aftermath of the second World War. The director uses Buddhist teachings to present his ideas against war and explains it by showcasing the human tragedy associated with. The movie begins with a Corporal from the unit of Captain Inouye narrating the story to us about another Corporal Mizushima when their unit is stationed in the forests of Burma. As the unit advances through the dense jungle, the Captain teaches them to sing to keep up their morale. Mizushima is their unit’s harp player. He has a modified Burmese Harp with him.



When the news of Japan’s surrender reaches the unit, they give up their arms and are held as POWs by the British troops. Before being sent to the POW camp, the British captain asks Captain Inouye if he can convince a Japanese unit holding a hill to surrender so that further loss to life can be avoided. Unable to do the task himself, Inouye asks Mizushima to do the tasks to which Mizushima readily agrees. Mizushima is given 30 minutes to convince the troop to surrender. Risking his life, Mizushima reaches the top of the hill and speaks to the leader of the troop about the surrender. They discuss among themselves and decide to fight until the end. Determined to save the soldiers, Miizushima tries to hoist a white flag to get more time from the British. Misunderstanding his intent, the soldiers pull him inside the cave and get back to fighting. In the end its only Mizushima who is injured but he survives and he becomes distraught at his failure.

Meanwhile, in the POW camp, the rest of the soldiers in Captain Inouye’s unit are wondering about what happened to him. Inouye tries to get some information form an old lady who gets them food for trading with any items the soldiers have. Mizuma, is saved and cared for by a monk. Determined to get back to his unit as he had promised his captain, Mizushima, steals the monk’s robe and heads towards the POW camp. On his way, he comes across bodies after bodies of soldiers and is greatly affected by it. When he reaches the POW camp and makes it to his unit, he has a change of heart and decides to leave the unit and not recognize any of them. He decides to stay back in Burma and bury the bodies of the soldiers. Also, he becomes a monk to come to terms with the tragedy and to find peace within himself. Realizing that the monk is Mizushima, Inouye and his unit try many times to bring him back either by singing or by sending messages to him. They get no response form him. Post war as the peace process begins the POW’s are sent back to their homeland. Right when the unit leaves for Japan,.they get a letter from Mizushima explaining why he decided to stay back.

The strength of this movie lies definitely in its story and screen play. The symbolism in the dialogues are unmistakable For example, the movie begins with the following line: “Down in Burma, soil is blood-red. So are rocks.” . In another scene an old man says “Soldiers from various countries die here. But, Burma is always the land of the Buddha”. Using the stark landscape and the dire circumstances of living, Ichikawa portrays the value of human life and the futility of war in with utmost elegance. The transformation of Mizushima is feels real and leaves an impression on you. The background music adds the to effectiveness of the story. The mood of the soldiers is filled with nostalgia and love for their motherland. Even after the news of the surrender, Inouye tries to motivate his men by encouraging them to think about working for their country once they go back. This is also reflected in the song that the soldiers repeatedly sing, “Hanyu no Yadu or “There’s No Place Like Home.”

For Mizushima, Burma becomes the land where he gets ‘enlightened’. He realizes the purpose of his life and tries to attain it. It is difficult for him to explain to his former fellow soldiers on how he feels and he tries to avoid all contact with them. Also, it is very difficult for him to not return to his homeland and since he doesn’t want his association with his unit to affect his resolution. It is very moving and tragic a situation but, the director uses Buddhist doctrine of salvation from pain is through compassion, knowledge humility and, service. The movie does not pass judgements or try to find out reasons for the war or its aftermath. The harp is the central object for communication used by Mizushima. It represents the constant within him and through the harp he is able to remember his past and also present himself to the future.

The film boasts of an excellent composition by Akira Ifukube. The songs that the unit songs to the tunes that Mizushima plays, the melancholy of the POW camp to the distressing sight of the dead bodies, every scene has been given an exquisite background score that stays with you for a long time. Ichikawa, exploits the landscape of Burma to his advantage. From showing rough and dry terrains to marshy and swampy landscapes, the country of Burma forms an excellent backdrop, add to that the majestic and beautiful Buddha statues and temples. It is simply, stunning. Truly, one of the masterpieces of Cinema.

Ichikawa made this movie all over again in colour. It was released in 1985. By the way, an actor who is common from my previous article is Rentaro Mikuni. notice the change in his tone and dialogue delivery when you compare it to his character ( Kageyu Saito ) in Harakiri. Amazing!

Until the next time, this is Sarang signing off.