Kabe atsuki heya (1956)

Kabe atsuki heya (The Thick-Walled Room)
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Written by Kôbô Abe
1956/Japan
Shinei Productions/Shochiku Eiga
First viewing/Hulu

[box] The Tribunal shall have the power to try and punish Far Eastern war criminals who as individuals or as members of organizations are charged with offences which include Crimes against Peace. The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility:

a. Crimes against Peace: Namely, the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a declared or undeclared war of aggression, …;

b. Conventional War Crimes: Namely, violations of the laws or customs of war;

c. Crimes against Humanity: Namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political or racial grounds … — Tokyo Charter, Article 5 [/box]

Here is an interesting look at post-War Japan’s conflicted views of WWII as seen in the microcosm of a prison for convicted war criminals.

We look at many different prisoners in turn.  We are primarily interested in Class B prisoners who were convicted of war crimes as enlisted men following orders.  The film flashes back to the crimes themselves.  One man was ordered to shoot a Filipino who fed his troop in the suspicion that he was a guerrilla that would reveal their movements.  An American was shot for stealing food.  Many of the prisoners are angry because they feel like the people responsible for the war were treated less harshly than they.  A few still believe in the Emperor and the Japanese cause.  One is a Communist.  One seeks atonement and peace.  All are disappointed when the peace treaty finally signed between Japan and the U.S. does not mean their immediate release.

This was interesting, if not a masterpiece.  Kobayashi is still coming into his own.  His anti-war, anti-military theme is taking hold and he is beginning to use some of the stylistic flourishes that would characterize his later work.  There are some dream-like sequences.

Clip (poor quality)