Classic Japanese Cinema Discussion Thread

Yuki yukite, shingun (1987) : Japanese war documentary by director Kazuo Hara. It centers around Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old veteran of Japan's campaign in New Guinea in the Second World War, and follows him around as he searches out those responsible for the unexplained deaths of two soldiers in his old unit. Though Okuzaki ultimately holds Emperor Hirohito accountable for all the suffering of the war, ("I hate irresponsible people...the most cowardly man in Japan, is the Emperor Hirohito"), he painstakingly tracks down former soldiers and officers, coaxing them into telling him about the deaths, often abusing them verbally and at times physically in the process. When these elderly men do break down and decide to speak out, their testimonies are some of the most chilling, harrowing descriptions of wartime desperation ever committed to film.

In a creation of this provocative and subversive piece, director Hara was guided by his own words that " the documentary must examine occurrences that people do not wish for to be examined, discover what was hidden and analyze reasonings for why it was hidden ". Focusing on a protagonist who is likely mentally unstable, relentless in his pursuit and very aggressive, so much that film crew needed to restrain him during some of his conversations with former soldiers, using the method of Cinéma vérité, director chronicles his cathartic odyssey. Yuki yukite, shingun ( The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On) was awarded with Caligari Film Prize in 1987.