The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

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.

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.

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.

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On was one of the most amazing documentaries I've ever watched. Okuzaki and his wife endured so much over the 5 years, so much pain and emotional suffering to track down the truth. To search for the truth behind what really happened to the soldiers that were in Okuzaki's unit relied on so much of their passion and commitment..I really admire that. Okuzaki along with Kazuo - the amazing director behind this film track down officers one by one...using whatever/appearing however necessary to get within the walls of questioning...completely deceiving most of the time. Each officer who was under Hirohito's power was to explain how the two soldiers died...any form of resistance resulted in abuse verbally and even physically. When the cause was mentioned and when I discovered how the bodies were processed - - I was like ugh!! Who does that?? And the most amazing yet bothersome conclusion I came to in of all this is that I just absorbed Okuzaki's true life experience...a very harsh, painsaking true realism.

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.