The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)

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.

Director:

Masaki Kobayashi

Writers:

Zenzô Matsuyama (screenplay), Masaki Kobayashi (screenplay)

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima

7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Kaji
Michiyo Aratama	...	Michiko
Chikage Awashima	...	Tôfuku Kin
Ineko Arima	...	Shunran Yô
Keiji Sada	...	Kageyama
Sô Yamamura	...	Okishima
Akira Ishihama	...	Chin
Kôji Nanbara	...	Kô (as Shinji Nanbara)
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Kyôritsu Ô
Tôru Abe	...	Watarai Gunsô
Masao Mishima	...	Kuroki Shochô
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Okazaki
Kôji Mitsui	...	Furuya
Akitake Kôno	...	Kôno Taii
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Honsha Buchô

Storyline

In the World War II, the pacifist and humanist Japanese Kaji accepts to travel with his wife Michiko to the tiny Manchurian village Loh Hu Liong to work as supervisor in an iron ore mine to avoid to be summoned to the military service. Kaji works with Okishima (Sô Yamamura) and he implements a better treatment to the laborers and improves the mine production. When the feared Kempetai (The "Military Police Corps", the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945) brings six hundred Chinese POWs to the mine, Kaji negotiates with their leaders expecting them to control their comrades. However the methods of Kaji upset the corrupt system in the site, and the foreman Furuya (Kôji Mitsui) plots a scheme to use the naive Chen (Akira Ishihama) to turn off the electrical power of the barbwire fences to allow the prisoners to escape. When seven prisoners are falsely accused of an attempt of fleeing, a cruel Kempetai sergeant uses his sword to behead the prisoners. When ...

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | pow | chinese | ore mine | japanese occupation of china | 

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Taglines:

An extraordinary picture of man's fate and man's hope...

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout the trilogy, all scenes set in Manchuria were actually shot in director Masaki Kobayashi's native province of Hokkaido in the far north of Japan. (No attempt was ever made to film in the actual locations, as the filmmakers understood that, for political reasons, this would be impossible.) As the sky in Hokkaido was usually quite different from the sky in Manchuria as Kobayashi recalled it from his days as a soldier there, he would halt filming for long periods until the cloud formations most closely resembled, in his mind, a Manchurian sky.

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Goofs

At one point a Japanese guard begins to whip Kao, yet the motions he makes are just a flailing of his arms, visibly missing the actor. Kao retaliates by throwing a rock at the guard, but the rock never strikes the guard. However, the actor playing the guard overreacts as if he has been struck.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Michiko: This isn't like you.
Kaji: Why?
Michiko: You're running away. Don't you want me?
Kaji: Of course I do.
Michiko: And I want you, too. Yet we can't marry-...
Kaji: How many times must I explain?
Michiko: Because you might be called up? I wouldn't care if it was the day after. Of course I'd cry. I'd cry bitterly. But happiness only lies in marrying the one you love.
Kaji: Alright. I'll take you back to my dormitory. You'll stay with me tonight. Alright?
Michiko: Yes, I'll go.
[...]

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Connections

Followed by The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)

User Reviews

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

The Human Condition (Ningen no jôken) is a 9,5 hour long epic film trilogy directed by Masaki Kobayashi, based on the six volume novel by Junpei Gomikawa. The trilogy stays true to the novel's composition by being divided into six parts, meaning that each of the three installments are split in two parts, in between which are intermissions. Both parts in the first film begin with the same opening credits sequence, showing us some stoneworks portraying dramatic imagery (the similar intro opens all three films). The three movies, each long 3 hours or more, are called No Greater Love, Road to Eternity and A Soldier's Prayer.

No Greater Love introduces the main character Kaji, a pacifist during the chaotic mess that was Japan during WW2. To avoid being drafted, he moves to Manchuria with his wife, where he becomes a labor camp supervisor and clashes with the oppressive nature of camp officials and their lower-ranked men.

Masaki Kobayashi's films often feature individuals against an oppressive and totalitarian system, be it the feudal Japan in Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion, or WW2 occupied Manchuria in The Human Condition. Kobayashi himself was drafted into the army and sent to Manchuria during the war, meaning that the character of Kaji is not far away from the director himself. Some people accuse the trilogy to be too melodramatic - well, if that's how Kobayashi saw the situation, and he was there, I don't have much of a big problem over it.

Kaji is brilliantly portrayed by Tatsuya Nakadai, one of the most versatile Japanese actors. He handles the role fantastically and lives up to the challenge of carrying the entire 9,5-hour plot on his back. Michiyo Aratama, who played Michiko, is perhaps more well-known for her role in Kobayashi's Kwaidan.

The Human Condition offers some brilliant widescreen composition and magnificent B&W imagery, as most Kobayashi films do. The film has some problems, though, most of which are of strictly technical nature. First, some of the violent scenes were filmed awkwardly, like the whipping scene listed under IMDb "Goofs". Second, because the entire cast was Japanese, the Mandarin spoken by the miners is very unrealistic (doesn't bother me personally, but it's still there). Third, the mining conditions are surprisingly underplayed and were even harsher in real life. Fourth, the music is sometimes too annoying, loud and even useless in several scenes.

But overall, this is definitely a film you have to check out if you're into Japanese cinema, WW2 films, or epic films in general.

8,5/10

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Mandarin

Release Date:

14 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Human Condition I: No Greater Love

Filming Locations:

Hokkaido, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ninjin Club, Shochiku

Technical Specs

Runtime:

208 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1