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In war, everyone loses!

Ugetsu Monogatari (Japanese, 雨月物語, Rain-Moon Tales; 1953)
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Geopolitical strategists will want us to believe that war is a necessary evil the human race must endure to advance. For a nation, a race or whatever name we give to a group of people with the same thinking to survive, they must engage in combat to stay relevant. Failing which, their ideology will have to change to suit the aspirations of the victors.

Again and again, we see wars are started by great powers to create business. The whole military-industrial complex thrives on it. Citizens sleep well, knowing their neighbours will not overpower them anytime soon. Leaders think they are serving the nation excellently by marching into wars. They purposely overlook the pain, destruction, sorrow and inner demons that it brings out to devastate humanity. Families are torn apart. Food production is disrupted. Peace of mind is broken into pieces. Social mores are shredded. Human values take a backseat.

This is one of the movies that put Japanese cinema on the world map. And it is also one of Martin Scorsese's favourite films. Kenji Mizoguchi holds a special place in Japan, comparable to legendary moviemaker Akira Kurosawa.

This film is set in the Samurai era (1568-1600) when civil war was spreading all over. Genjūrō, a potter, and his brother-in-law, Tōbei, lead a simple life. Genjūrō is all out to make profits with his blossoming business. Tōbei dreams of being a samurai. As hostility is imminent, Genjūrō's wife posters him to leave the village, but Genjūrō goes off anyway to make one last sale before leaving. He goes off with his Tōbei to town. It proved to be a big mistake.

Genjūrō's wife is stabbed by soldiers. Genjūrō is charmed by a ghost and almost marries her. In the confusion of the civil war, Tōbei became a samurai by presenting a severed head of a general as his killing when he merely stole it from a warrior. Tōbei is feted as a samurai and goes places only to find his wife working in a brothel. They return home to lead their old life. Genjūrō returns home to find his wife and son. The following day he realises it was just his wife's apparition.

In the wise words of Lao Tze, everybody loses in a war, especially the common man. The tranquillity and growth achieved all the peaceful years go down the drain, and a reset button is started, littered with tragedy, death, destruction and disappointments.

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Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Comments

  1. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 16:52

    That's how the our so called leaders and our military officers build there empires over the fort of dead bodies of the common people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 21:08

    The sad truth is that that is how we determine who rules and who becomes the conquered.

    ReplyDelete

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