The Human Condition

Japanese wartime trilogy directed by Masaki Kobayashi which follows the journey of Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) from naïve labour camp supervisor to Imperial soldier and eventually to Soviet prisoner of war. In 'No Greater Love' (1959) Kaji struggles to deal with the harsh reality of forced labour and is enlisted into the army in order to remove his dissenting presence from the camp where he works. In 'Road to Eternity' (1959) Kaji leads a group of new recruits as they are attacked by the Soviets. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Japanese suffer huge casualties, leaving a demoralised Kaji to look for any survivors. Finally, 'A Soldier's Prayer' (1961) follows Kaji as he attempts to lead a band of injured soldiers and refugees away from the war zone. However, with no food or shelter and with advancing Soviet forces all around, Kaji and his group of survivors are captured and taken to a Soviet labour camp for interrogation.