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.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.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.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 1 nomination
- Kô
- (as Shinji Nanbara)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Tatsuya Nakadai, a marathon screening of the entire nine-and-a-half-hour "Human Condition" trilogy is held once a year in Japan, and he has once or twice attended these screenings, which are always sold out.
- GoofsAt 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.
- Quotes
Kaji: [discussing the pardoning of prisoners due to be executed for an alleged escape attempt] I'll be honest. There's only one chance in one hundred.
Kyôritsu Ô: This does not concern us alone. Just as my companions stand between life and death, so do you now stand at an important crossroads.
Kaji: You're right.
Kyôritsu Ô: If you fail now, no one will ever trust you again, and you too will lose faith in yourself.
Kaji: It's true.
Kyôritsu Ô: Yet you would do nothing?
Kaji: What can I do?
Kyôritsu Ô: Must a man outside this barbed wire ask me such a question? Not all the Japanese working here are murderous devils. Their combined opinion objecting to this execution will be more effective than one individual alone.
Kaji: If I'd always acted as you wanted me to there'd be no Kaji here today. I'd like to see what you'd do in my position.
Kyôritsu Ô: You and I will both make minor mistakes. Such things can be forgiven. But an error made at a crucial moment is an unforgivable crime. Your life has been a series of errors stemming from the conflict between your work and yourself. Such errors can possibly be corrected. But this one cannot.
Kaji: Meaning?
Kyôritsu Ô: You'll either be revealed as a murderer wearing the mask of humanism or as one worthy of the beautiful name... "man".
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
While the story has an immediate appeal (or rather connection-to) the Japanese public as a piece of modern history- the occupation/decimation of Manchuria and its people- none of its dramatic or emotional power is lost on me. Kobayashi is personally tied to the material very much (he himself fought in the war and immediately bought the rights to the 6-volume series when first released), but he doesn't ever get in the way of the story. Matter of fact, he's a truly amazing storyteller first and foremost; dazzlingly he interweaves the conflicts of the prisoners (i.e. Chen, the prostitutes, Kao) with Kaji's first big hurdle of conscience at the labor camp as he sees prisoners treated in horrible conditions, beaten, abused, and eventually brought to senseless deaths thanks to Furyua and his ilk, and finds himself brought to an ultimate question: can he be a human being, as opposed to another mindless monster?
Kobayashi creates scenes and moments that are in the grand and epic tradition of movies, sometimes in beautiful effect and other times showing for the sake of the horrors of wartime (for example, there will never be as harrowing an exodus from a half-dozen cattle cars as seen when the Chinese POW's exit from there to the food sacks), and is able with his wonderful DP to make intimately acted scenes in the midst of wide scapes like the outside ore mines and the cramped living quarters or caves. And damn it all if we don't get one of the great scenes in the history of movies, which is when the six "escapees" are put to execution with the prisoners, and horrified Kaji, watching in stark, gruesome detail. Everything about that one scene is just about perfect.
But as the anchor of the piece (and unlike the other two films, he's not even in every scene of this part), Tatsuya Nakadai delivers on his breakthrough performance. Kobayashi needed a bridge between pre and post-war Japan, and Nakadai is that kind of presence. But aside from being an appealing star- the kind you don't want to avert your eyes from- he's mind-blowingly talented be it in subtle bits of business or when he has to go to town in explosive emotional scenes (or, also, just a twitch under his eye in a super-tense exchange). This goes without saying other actors right alongside him- Aratama, Yamamura, Manbara- are perfectly cast as supervisor, prisoner, prostitute, wife alike to Kaji. And yet, for all the praise worth giving to the film, one that gets even better in its second half than its first, this is only the first part!
- Quinoa1984
- Jul 27, 2008
- How long is The Human Condition I: No Greater Love?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Human Condition I: No Greater Love
- Filming locations
- Hokkaido, Japan(Exterior scenes of the Manchurian mine)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime3 hours 28 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1