Gory Japanese war film shocks, thrills Venice film festival

Interesting... I love gory, violent and shocking movies .

Well done. War's no console game.

War's no console game.

Actually, it is..... until the baddies start shooting back.

Like The first 30 mins of Saving Private Ryan, sounds like one all potential soldiers should watch. Maybe then, no one would sign up. War, is NO console game.

If he wanted to show the 'futility of war', rather than focus on the victimhood of a presumably patriotic Japanese soldier, perhaps he should have addressed the brutality with which Japan treated the people it conquered and the allied POWs.

Really until the country can admit its fault in the war it hasn't earned the right to dwell on its own suffering.

Not fair to single out only the Japanese for their mistreatment of POWs... Though you're really saying Japanese and Koreans (as Korean soldiers and officers were placed in charge of POW camps).

Australia, New Zealand and the United States had their 'bad treatment' of Japanese POWs (and US added more insult when they concentrated American citizens of Japanese descent in camps illegally). ;)

Neither the Americans or Australians took many Japanese POW since there was an unwritten doctrine of "Take no prisoners" and on top Japanese were killing themselves.

Really until the country can admit its fault in the war

All 130,000,000?

Or just the adults?

Or just the old men in their (at least) 80s or 90s who were old enough to serve?

Or just the ones who gave orders?

Or just the ones who really had real authority? (High level officers, etc)

Or just the ones who did the wrong thing? And are still alive?

My father's family emigrated from Europe after WW2. He was only a teen but what he had to say about the Germans was interesting. He said the majority were neither stupid or evil. Despite the movies. I suspect most Japanese were pretty much the same.

In any case, there were plenty of victims on all sides. And seeing that the story took place in the Philippines, let's not forget this story of atrocious behaviour on the part of the invaders,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War

In case you don't have time to read it, I copied this section for you.

Enraged by a guerrilla massacre of U.S. troops on the Island of Samar, General Jacob H. Smith retaliated by carrying out an indiscriminate attack upon its inhabitants. His order "KILL EVERY ONE OVER TEN" became a caption in the New York Journal cartoon on May 5, 1902.

How many Americans were arrested and executed for massacres committed during this war alone?

For me, Mr. Ichikawa's 1956 film, "The Burmese Harp," is one of the best films in the history of film making. I have not been able to bring myself to watch the original "Fires on the Plain," but maybe someday.

If you thought "The Burmese Harp" was good you have to see Masaki Kobayashi's "The Human Condition". There is no better film about the experience of war IMO.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2009/09/king_of_pain.html

@SamuraiBlue Where did you read this? I agree there weren't many Japanese POWs in Australia (about 2,200 in late 1944) but not sure if there was a 'take no prisoners policy' at the time....