The Burmese Harp
(1956)
★ 7.8 IMDb · 175 votes
Year: 1956
Runtime: 117 мин
Country: Japan
Director: 市川崑
Cast: 三国連太郎, 安井昌二, Дзюн Хамамура, Такэтоси Найто, 春日俊二, 西村晃, Keishichi Nakahara, 伊藤利昭, Hiroshi Tsuchikata, 青木富夫
Plot
In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.
Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms.