Product Description

An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close World War II and finds harmony through song. A corporal, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa’s The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar statements, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42695 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENT.
• Released on: 2007-03-13
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 116 minutes

Features

• An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close World War II and finds harmony through song. A corporal, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one o

Amazon.com
Kon Ichikawa's Buddhist tale of peace, The Burmese Harp, is universally relevant in various eras and cultures, although it comments specifically on the destruction of Burma during World War II. Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama, The Burmese Harp stars a Japanese platoon stationed in Burma whose choir skills are inspired by their star musician, Private Mizushima (Rentaro Mikuni), who strums his harp to cheer the homesick soldiers. As the troop surrenders to the British and is interred in Mudon prison camp, Mizushima escapes to be faced with not only his imminent death, but also the deaths of thousands of other soldiers and civilians. Relinquishing his life as a military man, Mizushima retreats into a life of Buddhist prayer, dedicating himself to healing a wounded country. Filmed in black and white, strong visual contrasts heighten the divide between peace, war, life, and death in this highly symbolic film. Scenes in which the Japanese soldiers urge opposing forces to sing with them portray military men regardless of alliance as emotionally sensitive. Showing the humanistic aspects of war, such as the male bonding that occurs between soldiers, doesn't justify war as much as deepens its tragedy. This release includes interviews with the director and with Mikuni, further contextualizing its place in Japanese cinema. The Burmese Harp, with its lessons in compassion and selflessness, is so transformative that viewing it feels somewhat akin to a religious experience. --Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews

A downright beautiful story
I have seen this movie several times on videotape and am eagerly awaiting the Criterion Collection issue, which it richly deserves.
The movie is set in Burma (now Myanmar)at the end of WWII, just after the armistice. A troop of Japanese soldiers have created very tight-knitted solidarity among themselves through the efforts of Captain Inuoe, a music teacher. One of his soldiers, Muzashima, has built and mastered a Burmese harp and plays it when the unit sings in chorus.
Captain Inoue's troop surrender to the British, and Muzashima offers himself as a negotiator to persuade a rogue unit of Japanese soldiers cornered in a cave to give themselves up; they refuse and are bombarded and killed; Muzashima, however, escapes and disguises himself as a buddhist monk. The movie becomes very touching because as he tries to unite himself with his unit, he is treated with honor as a moank, and he begins to behave like a monk--he starts burying with proper rituals the orphaned, exposed corpses of Japanese soldiers. He eventually finds his squad; he stands outside the fence of the prison compound; the soldiers, who believe he has been killed, recognize him even though they can see he has become a very different person. He is serenaded with their haunting music, and he replies wordlessly by playing The Fareweall Song on his harp--but he cannot become one of them now, because he has found a mission: to give a proper burial to all the Japanese war corpses in Burma.
I cannot justly articulate how deeply touching it is to see this man, a Japanese, renounce his homeland and his tighly-knit company of men he has shared the deepest of experiences with--and become a solitary, itinerant undertaker in a completely alien land. There is a transcendence and an abandonment of self that is breathtaking.
I've seen many movies about the life of Christ, but oddly enough, this Japanese movie, with no theological or ideological intentions, seems to capture the spirit better than any of them.
Just in case you missed the point, I'm standing on my tiptoes to give this movie the highest rating I can: a real masterpiece.

The Difficulty Of Being A Good Buddhist
Many people, when they think of Buddhism, think of blissful meditation and serene contemplation. This movie graphically depicts the other side of Buddhism;i.e., hard work in the real world, in the real transformation of oneself and in one's efforts to help other beings, no matter how difficult or horrific the circumstances.
The film concerns a Japanese soldier separated from his unit in Burma, at the very end of WW II and its immediate aftermath. As he journeys to find his unit in a POW camp, he is confronted, at every turn in this wasteland of war, with dead and unburied fellow Japanese soldiers. At first, he disguises himself as a Buddhist monk (knowing that the Burmese respect and feed their monks). When he comes across British hospital staff burying an unknown Japanese soldier, with a formal Christian burial service and great respect, he is transformed. He recalls the hundreds of dead and unburied Japanese soldiers he had seen in his journey, he becomes a true Buddhist monk, and makes a singular and difficult vow; he will not return to Japan until he has buried all of the corpses he had seen. So he goes back, and begins his work.
Hardly blissful meditation, this. But he personifies what the Buddha taught; the purpose of Life is to be happy, but true happiness can only come from serving others. This soldier/monk, in devoting his life to active, difficult and gruesome work, is more a true fulfillment of the Buddha's teachings than is one who meditates on the weekend and wears prayer beads because it is "cool."
Sorry to sermonize, but this movie is not only a wonderful work of cinema, it is a Buddhist teaching in itself. Compassion MUST be coupled with the very difficult work of serving others.

One Scene Stands Out
I won't restate what was said by those earlier reviewers who found this to be an amazing film. I agree and it has always been on my "Top Ten" list. I would add only one thing. The climactic scene in which the converted monk sits at night talking to his former fellow soliders who are behind a tall chainlink fence (they are now in a POW camp waiting to be shipped home to Japan) is one of the most moving moments I've ever experienced. This once scene captures exactly what it means for the individual to follow his (or her) own destiny.