Hadashi no Gen (1983)

Director:

Mori Masaki

Writer:

Keiji Nakazawa (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Bombing Of Hiroshima As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Boy.

Plot:

A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Bomb | Barefoot | Atomic Bomb | Fire

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Issei Miyazaki	...	Gen Nakaoka (voice)
Masaki Kôda	...	Shinji Nakaoka / Ryuta Kondo (voice)
Seiko Nakano	...	Eiko Nakaoka (voice)
Takao Inoue	...	Daikichi Nakaoka (voice)
Yoshie Shimamura	...	Kimie Nakaoka (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	Hidezo (voice)
Katsuji Mori	...	Seiji Yoshida (voice)
Taeko Nakanishi	...	Hana (voice)
Junji Nishimura	...	Boku Pak (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	(voice)
Kôji Yada	...	(voice)
Yasurô Tanaka	...	(voice)
Ryôichi Tanaka	...	(voice)
Masaharu Satô	...	(voice)
Kyôko Tongû	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

Barefoot Gen (International: English title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Chile:14 | Australia:PG | Canada:14A | Finland:K-12 | France:-12 | India:A | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Company:

Mad House

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hadashi no Gen 2 (1986)

Excellent but too realistic for many viewers

The story is excellent, the animation effective, but the lack of in-between frames is intrusive in spots. For the full story, read the graphic novels. They provide an even more effective tale.

As with Nosaka's "Grave of the Fireflies," Gen deals with a Japanese youth in the waning days of WW II. The first 30 minutes shows him to be typical for his stage of life, swinging between a self-centered boy and an adult. He is suddenly thrust into the position of head of the family after the Hiroshima bomb kills his father, brother, and sister, and destroys the city. The remainder of the movie deals with his transformation into an adult, with adult sensibilities and adult responsibilities.

Gen is clearly a Japanese story - the author, Nakazawa, lived through the event as a child. But the story could have taken place in Dresden or London just as easily. Although the atomic bomb is the event the movie revolves around, the story is really about the people - the children - and the effect the event has on their lives.

It's too bad that so much of the books had to be sacrificed to the time limits of a film. The novels delve much more deeply into the cruel society that Japan was in the 1940s. For example, much more was made of the neighbor's Korean background in the book; in the movie, you wouldn't realize the ethnicity if you didn't think about the name.

As a conventional film, Gen would probably be too honest to find real appeal in the U.S. Worse, the animation format will probably dissuade those who would otherwise see and appreciate it. Like most Japanese anime, this is not a "cartoon." It is a serious film in an unconventional - for the U.S. - medium.

The DVD transfer is excellent and belongs in your collection. This is a movie that continues to educate and enlighten with each viewing.