Ana-ta-han (1953)
"Anatahan" (original title)

Josef von Sternberg directed, photographed, provides the voice-over narration and wrote the screenplay (from a based-on-actual event novel by Michiro Maruyana translated by Younghill Kang) ... See full summary »

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Younghill Kang (novel), Michiro Maruyama (novel),

Stars:

Akemi Negishi, Tadashi Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura

Cast

Cast overview:
Akemi Negishi	...	Keiko Kusakabe, the 'Queen Bee'
Tadashi Suganuma	...	Kusakabe, Husband of Keiko (as Suganuma)
Kisaburo Sawamura	...	Kuroda (as Sawamura)
Shôji Nakayama	...	Nishio (as Nakayama)
Jun Fujikawa	...	Yoshisato (as Fujikawa)
Hiroshi Kondô	...	Yanaginuma (as Kondo)
Shozo Miyashita	...	Sennami (as Miyashita)
Tsuruemon Bando	...	Doi (as Tsuruemon)
Kikuji Onoe	...	Kaneda (as Kikuji)
Rokuriro Kineya	...	Marui (as Rokuriro)
Daijiro Tamura	...	Kanzaki (as Tamura)
Chizuru Kitagawa	...	(as Kitagawa)
Takeshi Suzuki	...	Takahashi (as Suzuki)
Shiro Amikura	...	Amanuma (as Amikura)

Storyline

Josef von Sternberg directed, photographed, provides the voice-over narration and wrote the screenplay (from a based-on-actual event novel by Michiro Maruyana translated by Younghill Kang) about twelve Japanese seaman who, in June 1944, are stranded on an abandoned-and-forgotten island called An-ta-han for seven years. The island's only inhabitants are the overseer of the abandoned plantation and an attractive young Japanese woman. Discipline is represented by a former warrant officer but ends when he suffers a loss-of-face catastrophe. Soon, discipline and rationality are replaced by a struggle for power and the woman. Power is represented by a pair of pistols found in the wreckage of an American airplane, so important that five men pay for their lives in a bid for supremacy.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | island | narration | one word title | storytelling | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

17 May 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ana-ta-han

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiwa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 94 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: It is easy to see what others do; we carry no mirror to reflect our own actions.

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Connections

Featured in Cinéastes de notre temps: D'un silence l'autre - Josef von Sternberg (1967)

User Reviews

The perfect end to a brilliant career

This film actually had a run in Paris outside the Cinematheque and it attracted considerable attention. It's an audacious,in-your-face sort of quirky film that works on many levels. Sterberg's autobiography "Fun in a Chinese Laundry" spells out some of techniques he employed but the film needs to be experienced beyond a mere description. It was shot in an airplane hangar to begin with, with all the tinsel and tin foil representing an island jungle. The limited number of players (all non-professional) and space (on an island) make this more of a chamber work rather than the Hollywood cast of thousands and its subdued drama will disappoint some who want things to be more explicit. It's purely artificial and looks that way deliberately. The film is in Japanese without subtitles and the narrator in English is none other than Sternberg himself. He warns the audience of what will happen BEFORE it happens, thus leaving us free to discover the camera-work, the scenery and the atmosphere minus the drama. Drama there is, of course, but detached from what's happening on screen. Everything in the film - minus the very last shot, alas - is artificial, dream-like and absolutely fascinating. What a remarkable end to a remarkable career. I highly recommend it although I wouldn't know how to find it. Good luck!

Curtis Stotlar