The Human Condition Trilogy (1959/1961)

***Unable to locate VHS cover at this time.

Length of film:  579 Minutes

Rated: 15

Genre: Drama, History, War

Director: Masaki Kobayashi

Starring: 

No Greater Love (1959)	Road to Eternity (1959)	A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)
Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima, Keji Sada, Sô Yamamura Akira Ishihama	Tatsuya Nakadai Michiyo Aratama Kokinji Katsura Jun Tatara Michirô Minami Kei Satô Kaneko Iwasaki	Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura, Yûsuke Kawazu, Chishû Ryû, Taketoshi Naitô, Kyôko Kishida

IMDB Rank:

Part 1	Part 2	Part 3	Total
8.5 /10	8.5/ 10	8.8 /10	8.6/ 10

***With each part having a runtime of over 180 minutes, each part includes its own official intermission point. As a result the entire film can be separated into six distinct parts. To view each intermission point please see (No Greater Love (1959), The Road to Eternity (1959), A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)).

Part 1 Time: 208 Minutes 

Part 2 Time: 181 Minutes

Part 3 Time: 190 Minutes

Where does the first and second parts end? 

Part 1: Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) and Michiko (Michiyo Aratama) embrace each other following Kaji release from Japanese confinement.

Part 2: Kaji survives the Soviet onslaught, but is forced to kill a maddened Japanese soldier with his bare hands. He runs and screams desperately in search of other Japanese survivors.

Final line of dialogue on the first and second parts: 

Part 1: Kaji speaks with Michiko stating, “Michiko, let’s go home. We still have 24 hours together.” Japanese devil can be heard shouted in the distance.

Part 2: Kaji shouts, “I’m a monster! But i’m going to stay alive. Is anyone there? Isn’t anyone left alive? Answer Me! Is anyone else still alive?”

First line of dialogue on the second and third parts: 

Part 2: It is now January 23rd, at a Japanese army training base, a soldier shouts to his superior officer, “All’s in order, sir!”

Part 3: Kaji and some comrades hide on a hillside, a Japanese soldier speaks to Kaji stating, “right smack in enemy territory. What do we do now?”

How jarring is it when the first and second parts ends? 

Part 1: Somewhat, Kaji’s implementation of humane practices in the labour camp have aggravated the administrators and Kenpeitai military police leading to his dismissal as labour chief. With Kaji no longer employed by the labour camp he is now forced to be drafted into the Japanese army.

Part 2: Jarring, Kaji’s humanitarian beliefs have been pushed to the limit as he makes a split second decision to kill a maddened Japanese solider to prevent Soviet soldiers from discovering his position. With the Soviet army’s onslaught, Kaji is one of the few remaining soldiers in his regiment.

Which of the three parts is better? This film trilogy presents the psychological toll that war can have on a person with high moral virtue. Kaji, a humanist, is continuously challenged by the brutality of war and is forced to not only go against his values, but to take on an identity that he despises. Part 3 is slightly better than the first two parts as Kaji struggles to escape the war zone of Manchuria only to become a prisoner of war forced to work for the Russians, bringing Kaji’s narrative full circle.

Academy Awards: None

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