Ningen no Jôken (1959)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 208 minuten
Alternative titles: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love / Ningen no Jôken I / 人間の條件 第1・2部
Country:
Japan
Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi
Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama and Ineko Arima
IMDb score:
8,5 (9.787)
Releasedate: 15 January 1959
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Ningen no Jôken plot
"The Immortal Story"
It is 1943 when Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai), a Japanese steel company clerk and a convinced pacifist, accepts a post at the Loh Hu Liong ore mine in northern Manchuria in exchange for exemption from military service. When he arrives at the remote mine with his beloved Michiko (Michiyo Aratama), he finds that the working conditions for the workers are appalling and violence is the order of the day. Things get complicated when Japanese military police deliver some 600 exhausted Chinese forced laborers to the mine, demanding that they be housed in separate barracks. In his sincere efforts to improve their living conditions, Kaji stands alone: the ordinary miners as well as the forced laborers and comfort women regard him as an accomplice of the occupying forces, while the corrupt guards see him as a weak busybody. Several escapes then put the relations on edge.
Actors and actresses
Kaji
Michiko
Tôfuku Kin
Shunran Yô
Okishima
Chin
Kô
Kyôritsu Ô
Watarai Gunsô
Kuroki Shochô
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
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- 87387 messages
- 12346 votes
What a seat.
In retrospect, perhaps not ideally timed. Having just seen one of the most energetic films of recent years, this 3+ hour war drama stands out in stark contrast. Although the past shows that it probably wouldn't have made much difference after all.
I previously read that the acting would not be very wooden, but rather natural... then I can't agree with that. It often bothers me with older Japanese films, there is a lot of acting with large gestures, very theatrical. Something that has turned 180° in recent Japanese dramas, something that I am especially grateful for, because in the context of a drama it just doesn't work.
The soundtrack also often supports these grand gestures. It's all thick and very distracting, so it never comes across as very natural or believable. Visually not impressed either, but I didn't expect that either. Boring in terms of cinematography and not much interesting is done with the black and white.
All that remains is the figure of Kaji (around which this entire epic is based). Despite a number of interesting points, it is mainly the story of a stubborn guy who fights for his ideals. Some compassion is required to get through the 3 hours unscathed, but for the reasons mentioned above I was unable to do so anywhere. The distance between viewer and characters was very great, so the whole thing really didn't affect me at all.
And if it has to last 208 minutes... rarely a plus as far as I'm concerned, if only because it's often the same type of films that come up with such running times.
I think I'll leave the sequels alone for a while. It will happen someday, but I don't feel like it right away.
1.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico (moderator films)
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- 9509 messages
- 5174 votes
I immediately agree with most of the comments here: what a long wait! And I still have 6 hours waiting for me here. The question is whether I am waiting for it, because you could easily waste an hour in this first part...
Ningen no Jôken is an anti-war film that stands as a rock on its own. The working conditions of the workers and specifically the prisoners of war are well explained. The focus is on the pacifist and idealist Kaji, who avoids war service by working as a kind of trade union militant in an ore mine where working conditions are not taken very seriously. His ideas are often opposed and often met with resistance, laughed off or simply ignored. His efforts are countless, his achievements limited or insufficient, to such an extent that even the prisoners of war for whom he stands up are (and remain) very skeptical, no matter what.
The violation of labor rights (if they amount to anything) is condoned because the greedy war monster simply expects this. The end justifies the means, right? These inhumane conditions have become a generally acceptable rule and the battle Kaji is waging is a hopeless fight against the prevailing ethics.
The ending is more than satisfying, as it should be, and it immediately sets the tone for the sequel. Once again misery will succeed, hopefully a little more to the point like now. The theme and story that director Kobayashi brought in the 50s and 60s is admirable and commendable. On to parts II and III, I have no other choice...
Translated from Dutch · View original
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
Deterred by the long running time, I ignored this social-psychological war trilogy for years until I finally found the courage to watch the three parts — actually six parts — spread over two days almost seamlessly. There is so much misery in the almost ten hours that the trilogy lasts that I noticed that I started to become a bit immune to it during the last part. In addition, I did not find some scenes very believable, although this is more than compensated for by the penetrating close-ups that are frequently inserted. It's quite a ride, and it's definitely worth it. I suspect that reading the books would have given me more satisfaction, but I don't know yet whether I will ever start doing that.
Part 1: ****
Part 2: ***
Part 3: ***½
Translated from Dutch · View original
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