Returning to the Film Forum: The Human Condition

Plan Ahead for the April 8-16 Run

Don't hold me to this, but The Human Condition may be the Dr. Zhivago or Gone With the Wind of World War II era Japan. Comprised of three movies running more than nine hours all together, the story revolves around a Japanese pacifist and socialist who accepts an assignment to oversee a labor camp in Manchuria. Engrossing and strange and populated with outstanding character actors, it's the stuff of bleak absurdism—and (I think) it shows that, at least around 1960, Japan was not in total denial about its human rights abuses during the occupation of China.

Part One was a highlight of Blog About Town's movie year 2008, and it must have been a hit at the Film Forum, because the theater has brought the whole trilogy back for screenings from April 8-16. See if you can see it—and try to plan ahead, as seeing all three movies is no mean feat. I mean, I'm even posting about it now, instead of the very last minute, because I'm thinking of you.

Photo © Shochiku Co., Ltd.