Just finished watching it and I must say it is one of the most moving films I have ever seen. I watched with tear-blurred vision through most of the second half of the picture.
This film is an understated masterpiece - the cinematography, the direction and the acting are all first rate. The story is made all the more powerful because it is true. These were real acts of courage, love, sacrifice and forgiveness made by real human beings living under horrific conditions.
The dark side of the film is its depiction of the barbarous cruelty of the Japanese soldiers in their dealings with the Allied prisoners as well as each other. The Bushido code (which was a modern, early 20th century development in Japan, not as is often thought, a continuation or resurrection of samurai codes - check out Paul Johnson's Modern Times for more detail on this) made brutality an expression of service - the more brutal, the more loyal. Thus the enduring Japanese cultural trait of relishing in the process as much as, or more so, than the end product was given a hideous expression in the manifold atrocities committed during the war. Unbelievably, these tortures and massacres were seen as noble and honorable under the lamp of Bushido. The film shows this aspect very well in the character of Sgt. Ito. His harshness and cruelty are not rooted in sadistic pleasure, but rather in a sense of honor and duty. His inability to reconcile his moral code with that of the prisoners is subtly yet keenly conveyed and IMO is one of the best dramatic elements in the film.
Just a brilliant movie. You simply must see it.
thanks,
Rob
