Based on a novel by Michio
Takeyama, Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp is the lyrical story of
a Japanese soldier in Burma at the close of World War Two. The soldier,
Mizushima (Shoji Yasui) is sent on a mission by his Captain to inform another
unit of the Japanese surrender and to convince them to stop fighting. When
the unit refuses to give up and are destroyed by the British Army, only
Mizushima remains alive and must come to terms with his nation's defeat.
Pretending to be a Buddhist monk, he undergoes a religious conversion when
he comes face to face with the staggering amount of death and destruction
he sees as he travels across the region in search of his unit. Determined
to honor and bury the dead, Mizushima is conflicted about remaining in
Burma to live a life of service or returning to Japan to help rebuild his
own country.
The film takes its name
from a Burmese harp acquired by Mizushima. He has become an expert harpist
and plays while the soldiers sing beautiful chorales with a sound so lush
it seems as if it is coming from the Mormon Tabernacle. While the depiction
of the soldiers is idealized, The Burmese Harp transcends its limitations
to become a universal testament not only to the madness that prevailed
in Burma, but to the unspeakable horrors of all war. Ichikawa, in spite
of the fact that this film became a classic, loved the story so much that
he made it again in 1985.
