The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

For the Japanese stationed on New Guinea during the Second World War, life was hell. Trapped in the oppressive heat of the jungle, with enemies on all sides and barely any food or water; men had to do desperate, base things to survive. Most of them would rather forget their experiences, or pretend they never happened. One man, however, refuses to let the past die: Kenzo Okuzaki, a middle-aged anti-monarchist anarchist. He too was stationed on New Guinea, and believes fate has bestowed upon him a mission: to find out the truth behind the mysterious deaths of two soldiers from his old unit. Almost forty years after the end of the War, Okuzaki embarks on this investigation, where he uncovers incredible, uncomfortable truths; documented for your viewing pleasure in Kazuo Hara's 'The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On.'

A powerful fly-on-the-wall documentary, 'The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On' is fascinating and unpredictable. A character study, as well as a poignant look at the experience of WWII Veterans in Japan, the film has a lot to offer. Okuzaki is a terrifically strange fellow whose every waking moment is consumed by anarchist ideals, and his quest is utterly compelling.

Fond of blowing his own trumpet, he is a charismatic eccentric whose investigative skills are surprisingly subtle and effective. He traverses Japan, interviewing various veterans involved in the murders. For a time, he brings the siblings of the two victims with him to engender sympathy from those he interrogates; a canny psychological trick. Okuzaki bombards his subjects with questions and non-stop chatter, breaking down their defences and- more often than not- uncovering long buried truths in the process.

Okuzaki is quite clearly a dangerous man, though, who does some questionable things to try and get people to talk. At times one wonders whether or not the presence of the camera isn't encouraging his outrageousness, and that he may be hampering his own mission. By attacking- or threatening to attack- the majority of those he interviews, Okuzaki comes across as more than a little unbalanced, which puts into question the validity of his investigation. Is he a crusader of justice, or an insane bully who beats people until they say what he wants them to?

The film paints a portrait of Okuzaki as a mixture of the two; something of an insane crusader. Indeed, despite his violent tendencies- or perhaps because of them- Okuzaki successfully solves the murders; uncovering some more in the process. He brings closure to the families of victims, and showcases how uncaring the Japanese government was during the War. Director Hara also uses the film to shed a light on the experience of Veterans after the War, and how the surviving men carry with them the shame and guilt of combat.

The soldiers Okuzaki interrogates are all broken men, in one way or another, haunted by their memories of New Guinea. The stories about the depravity they were forced to endure and partake in are devastating, and you can see the weight of that trauma is still overwhelming. A frail veteran by the name of Kichitaro Yamada- who Okuzaki visits twice and kicks a few times- has the most to say, and his revelations are staggering. By the time the credits roll, viewers will have a different perspective on Japan's involvement in WWII, and will clearly see the depths humans can sink to in order to survive.

There is nothing quite like 'The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On.' Wholly engrossing and consistently unpredictable, it has influenced generations of documentarians- from Joshua Oppenheimer to Bing Wang- and its power has not been diminished by time. It is an extraordinary odyssey in the company of a madman that offers viewers a unique cinematic experience not likely to be forgotten. Insightful, poignant, profound: Kazuo Hara's 'The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On' is a masterpiece.

I was very open minded going into this film, as it was a Japanese documentary, and I have never experienced such a thing. While the beginning started out a bit slow, it quickly caught my attention. The main character had one goal- to get the truth out of the soldiers who shot and killed their own men. I found it quite humorous at one point, when he would walk into their homes, say sorry for intruding, then insist that he will beat them up if they do not reveal the truth. His goal was simple. He had already been arrested and sentenced to time in the past, so he was not scared of this notion. What's even more funny is the camera man did not even do anything when the fighting's were going on, he insisted on continuing to shoot. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat for many parts of it, and some parts actually made me feel sorry for those he was beating up ( I.e the old man who just had surgery.) He had a mission, and certainly carried it out. Another funny part was when he used impersonators to help lure the people into giving him answers, so in a sense he was a hypacrit himself. He ends up spending time in jail at the end, though his story shall live on. Great overall film.

An uncomfortable but very engaging documentary, The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (great title) follows a man named Kenzo Okuzaki who fought in WW2, deeply regrets his past, and uses extreme and confrontational methods to try and seek redemption, as well as expose higher-ups in the army who he believes committed some very confronting war crimes.

His motives start sympathetic, but as it goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that he's a deeply disturbed and often quite frightening individual. Perhaps a lot of it stems from the trauma of fighting in WW2, but it's hard to know for certain.

He makes for a very compelling central figure, and he's a big reason the film is so provocative and troubling to watch. Different viewers may feel different things of course, but I found supporting his cause but not all of his methods to make this something of an emotional/ethical roller coaster to watch.

I know it's the kind of movie that will stick with me, and I got a similar feeling from it that I got from 2012's The Act Of Killing. Each confronts difficult subject matter in a unique way, and each tells their stories and conveys themes without using voiceover narration or archive footage of the horrifying events discussed (sometimes, what you imagine is more horrifying).

I would rate this higher, but the one thing that holds it back a little is the final five minutes. There's a ton of dramatic developments that happen near the end of this story, but they're mostly conveyed in title cards right before the end credits roll, and it feels very abrupt. You still understand where Okuzaki's personal mission leads to, but you don't really feel the impact in the same way you feel the events that came before, which is a slight shame.

Other than that, this is a pretty great documentary- keeps you engaged and glued to the screen, but challenges you when it comes to the ideas and themes it presents.

Like "Fires on the Plain," this documentary gives you the side of World War Two they left out of the John Wayne films. A Japanese war veteran is haunted by memories of fellow soldiers who were executed (and eaten!) by officers in New Guinea. Ironically, the officers used false charges that the soldiers were themselves cannibals as an excuse for executing them. The old soldier goes on a quixotic and unpopular crusade to bring the truth to light.

I watched this film for a modern Japanese narrative class, but would definitely recommend it to anyone else. The copy I had made it hard to read the subtitles sometimes, but it was usually pretty obvious what was going on, because at that point Okuzaki Kenzo was usually beating somebody up for not telling him the truth.

It is sometimes hard to believe that this film is a documentary, because you want it to be fiction. It is not easy to watch, but whole-heartedly worth it, because even though it forces you to think about a lot of uncomfortable things, WWII was a very uncomfortable time, so it's rather appropriate, that way.