Kobayashi never shied away from fighting back against unjust institutions. This is the earliest example of him explicitly doing so. The movie had to be shelved for three years because of how controversial the subject matter of calling out Imperial Japan’s actions during the war and how much of its commanding officers got off while the soldiers they commanded to do the crimes have to pay for it. The movie doesn’t condone these soldiers actions, it shines a light on the injustice occurring. Some dope technical aspects that scream Kobayashi, but also some technical limitations glaring along with poor casting choices for the English speaking characters, who were clearly not native speakers. But overall solid Kobayashi with a classic Kobayashi anti-war, humanist message.
Kobayashi never shied away from fighting back against unjust institutions. This is the earliest example of him explicitly doing so. The movie had to be shelved for three years because of how controversial the subject matter of calling out Imperial Japan’s actions during the war and how much of its commanding officers got off while the soldiers they commanded to do the crimes have to pay for it. The movie doesn’t condone these soldiers actions, it shines a light on the injustice occurring. Some dope technical aspects that scream Kobayashi, but also some technical limitations glaring along with poor casting choices for the English speaking characters, who were clearly not native speakers. But overall solid Kobayashi with a classic Kobayashi anti-war, humanist message.
