The Burmese Harp

"The soil of Burma is red, and so are it's rocks."

Title: The Burmese Harp
Year of Release: 1956
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Genre: Drama/Music/War
Rating: 8.5/10

Don't hold it against yourself if you don't know this film, it's relatively unknown. It's about a Japanese platoon that use music to keep their morales high, they soon surrender to the British after hearing that Japan has surrendered. One of the soldiers plays the harp, naturally gifted he taught himself how to play and play well. Before moving to a prison camp the Captain gets the okay to send a messenger to tell a group of Japanese soldiers to surrender also as resistance is literally futile. The other soldiers are reluctant to give up, and the inevitable happens. The Japanese platoon that sent Mizushima on the mission suspect him to be dead.

I had my doubts that there would be many films from the fifties based around WWII that were so unbiased. With scars and wounds still left in Japanese hearts it's incredibly such an honest film was created. I heard it was very praised during it's original release for simply being created. There is no way anyone can doubt this is an anti-war film, it shows decaying bodies in the mass, scattered around Burma. The pointless mindset some of the Japanese soldiers had during WWII that you must die for your country, that is the best and only way during war is shattered, if anyone thought dying with honor serves your country better than returning to rebuild a country in ruin they surely would of realised after this. As I was saying, it's quite an unbias film, not just because it was made only ten years after the war ended but because well... war films have a tendency to be bias. It shows the British as good people. There are two good examples, at the beginning when the Japanese platoon prepare for battle trying to fool the British by singing, laughing and clapping into thinking they weren't ready the British react in a way I did not expect. Also, though, subtle and quite insignificant a British soldier wishes Mizushima a safe return with complete sincerity. Those types of things just don't seem to be present in a lot of war based films, sure there are numerous examples of films that aren't bias but this is one that really earns my respect.

The music is absolutely perfect in this film. The harp that is played throughout and the singing bring the mood of the soldiers to life, but also, the score is perfect. One scene that is great half of the reason being the music is when Mizushima comes across a whole lot of Japanese corpses and he is obviously bewildered by the sight. The score used in this I haven't seen present in many films from the fifties, particularly Japanese films. Maybe I just need to see more, and they generally seem to be the type of music that is in war films, so again, maybe I just need to see more war films from the time. Regardless, the music is perfect.

The way this film is shot is also incredible. With simple long shots, and numerous pans, particularly across the corpses. I don't know how to explain it without being really general and saying "This looks great, that looks great" but there is no doubt in my mind the cinematography done in this film is one of it's strongest points.

This is quite a general film I think, though it's message is strong. The acting is good, the cinematography is great and the music is even better. There isn't much that goes wrong with this film. But as I said, it feels quite general, that's why I guess I can't really find the words to properly describe this film other than it's really good. The only thing I need a little more push in is understanding Mizushima. I read on IMDb that another of Ichikawa's films is quite good and will help you understand Mizushima better, but as one critic said "The Burmese Harp, just as the titular instrument suggests songs without filling them out, is a slight film that suggests the heavy human toll of war without actually presenting it.". Nonetheless a hugely great film.