{"id":2254,"date":"2007-02-07T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2007-02-07T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2254"},"modified":"2022-04-24T10:42:08","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T17:42:08","slug":"burmese-harp-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2254","title":{"rendered":"Harp of Burma (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I cannot leave the bones lying scattered on the hills.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster-215x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-31627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster-215x300.jpg 215w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster-91x128.jpg 91w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster-734x1024.jpg 734w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Poster.jpg 858w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAt the end of World War II, a Japanese soldier (Shoji Yasui) in Burma is sent to inform another unit that Japan has surrendered; however, the unit refuses to stop fighting, and everyone but Yasui is killed. Devastated, Yasui pretends to be a Buddhist monk and wanders the countryside, burying and paying honor to the dead. In the meantime, his platoon leader (Rentaro Mikuni) conducts an intensive search for the missing soldier.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Studies<\/li>\n<li>Japanese Films<\/li>\n<li>Kon Ichikawa Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Search<\/li>\n<li>Soldiers<\/li>\n<li>World War II<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Harp of Burma<\/em> (also known as <em>The Burmese Harp<\/em>) was Japanese director Kon Ichikawa&#8217;s first successful film in America, and remains one of his most accessible movies to date. After a somewhat hokey beginning &#8212; in which we are introduced to a Japanese platoon in the final stages of WWII which sings to keep its spirits up &#8212; the story quickly becomes more interesting, as Yasui is plunged into an existential crisis and begins his spiritual journey. At this point, <em>Harp of Burma<\/em> turns into a character study, with Yasui symbolizing veterans everywhere who must find a way to cope with the impossible reality of random death all around them. Rather than retreating into anger, denial, or masochistic behavior, Yasui chooses a path of healing and reflection; in the meantime, his loyal platoon leader (Mikuni) is obsessed with finding the missing soldier, who has become nearly a mythical figure to his fellow soldiers. Ichikawa thus shows us two divergent, yet equally relevant, approaches to dealing with the chaos and loss of war: Yasui honors the dead (who deserve attention and respect), while Mikuni focuses on preserving the living &#8212; who will ultimately be responsible for creating a new, post-war Japan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Yasui as the harp-playing soldier struggling to make sense of the devastation around him<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-1024x769.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"481\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-1024x769.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2-360x270.png 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Yosui2.png 1363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Beautiful cinematography of the war-torn Burmese landscape<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-1024x763.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"477\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-1024x763.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-300x224.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-768x572.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape-362x270.png 362w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Landscape.png 1381w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-1024x770.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"481\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-1024x770.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-768x578.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones-359x270.png 359w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/Harp-of-Burma-Bones.png 1371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A powerful and unique depiction of post-war trauma leading to spiritual awakening<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. Along with Ichikawa&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=83316\"><em>Fires on the Plain<\/em> (1959)<\/a>, this remains one of the best cinematic reflections on post-war devastation. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign Gem<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0049012\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I cannot leave the bones lying scattered on the hills.&#8221; Synopsis: At the end of World War II, a Japanese soldier (Shoji Yasui) in Burma is sent to inform another unit that Japan has surrendered; however, the unit refuses to stop fighting, and everyone but Yasui is killed. Devastated, Yasui pretends to be a Buddhist monk and wanders the countryside, burying and paying honor to the dead. In the meantime, his platoon leader (Rentaro Mikuni) conducts an intensive search for&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2254\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2254"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83331,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions\/83331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}