Fresh
It's a richly rewarding visual and human experience in all its bleakness.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
The Immortal Story.
1959 · 3h 26m · NOT RATED
Drama, History, War
Directed by
Masaki Kobayashi
Overview
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
89%
Tomatometer
Fresh
In keeping with the grandeur of its title, The Human Condition is anything but modest in scope and ambition.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Fresh
Ita(TM)s [star Tatsuya] Nakadai who makes this impressive yet flawed screed worth your time commitment.
David Fear, Time Out New York
Rotten
Based on Jumpei Gomikawa's ambitious novel and seasoned with Kobayashi's own experiences, this overly melodramatic trilogy set in Japanese-occupied Manchuria depicts the dehumanizing brutality of war with on-the-nose pedantry, never subtext, and offers li
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
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