Acclaimed director Kon Ichikawa's intense, yet poetically beautiful film focuses on the brutality of war and man's unwavering passion for life. During the final days of World War II, as the Jaspanese face defeat, soldiers hiding on a Philippine island commit unspeakable atrocities in a desperate attempt to survive- even for a few more days. Tamura, a tubercular soldier, is one of the stragglers. Surrounded by murder, starvation, and cannibalism, he retains his humanity in the face of his comrades' savage behavior. Because of his physical condition, Tamura knows he cannot save himself. Ironically, it is the illness that dooms him to certain death that frees him to act with dignity.
First Prize, Locarno Film Festival