The Unreturned Soldiers In Thailand
War & Peace • 45m
Directed by Shohei Imamura • Documentary • 1971 • 50 minutes
Imamura has better luck in Thailand, where he brings together three unreturned soldiers to discuss their experiences during the war and after.
The three men—a farmer named Fujita and two doctors: Toshida and Nakayama—have responded very differently to their circumstances. All three openly describe the war crimes they committed as part of the Japanese army, but fight bitterly over their different feelings about the Emperor and the choices each has made in their post-war lives.
"The most shocking of [Imamura's documentaries], IN SEARCH OF THE UNRETURNED SOLDIERS IN THAILAND, climaxes with the director getting three of the title subjects drunk so that they'll speak casually about atrocities they committed during World War II."—Chicago Reader
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