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Storyline
Gen and his family are living in Hiroshima as Japan nears the end of World War II. Gen's father has come to believe that the war is unwinnable, thus earning the wrath of the town officials and, in turn, discrimination from the rest of their neighbors. Shunned by the local merchants and tradesmen, food becomes scarce for Gen and his family. All these concerns soon pale, however, as the American military begins its final assault on Japan with the unleashing of its terrible new weapon. Written by
Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>
Plot Summary
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Taglines:
The Bombing Of Hiroshima As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Boy.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The film was part of a 1980s cycle of films about atomic bombs and nuclear warfare which had started in 1979 with
The China Syndrome. The films included
Silkwood,
Testament,
Threads,
WarGames,
The Day After,
The Atomic Cafe,
The Manhattan Project,
Whoops Apocalypse,
Special Bulletin,
Ground Zero, Barefoot Gen (
Hadashi no Gen),
Rules of Engagement,
When the Wind Blows, Letters from a Dead Man (
Pisma myortvogo cheloveka),
Memoirs of a Survivor and
The Chain Reaction.
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Goofs
When Gen and Shinji take a big bite from a sweet potato from each end, they are then told by Eiko to give the sweet potato to their mother. Once the sweet potato is given to her, it is whole again.
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Quotes
Kimie Nakaoka:
[
desperately looking for someone to feed her baby]
Please, isn't there anybody who can help me with just a little milk? My baby's starving.
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Connections
Featured in
Hadashi no Gen 2 (1986)
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You'll be surprised, this is testimony to the power of 'old style' animation, you need more than Computer Generated images to make a great film. Even with it's basic arrangements barefoot gen managed to shock me by its ability to capture all the horror, confusion and devastation delivered by the atomic bomb.
I found this movie informative but disturbing. I have heard it being described as a tragicomedy. I think this is a fitting description but just be prepared because it really does make giant leaps from the genuinely tragic and sad to light heartedness. You won't know whether to laugh or cry. Actually, you will. A little cry would be totally justified so have a hanky at the ready and don't watch it with your mates from down the pub.