The Human Condition...

So, I just finished watching the mamoth (9.5 hour) Japanese epic "The Human Condition", recently released on Region 1 dvd by Criterion, upgrading it from some horrible VHS versions and a jarzy triple dvd set that didn't do the film(s) justice.

As we humans seem to be the only ones that question why we are here, beyond the basic need to survive etc, it seems only fitting that a film try and tackle the questions of 'Why are we here?' in a tangible way. As I've always argued: "there's no real meaning to life, which is why we must bring meaning to it."

The film is adapted by director Maski Kobayashi from Jumpei Gomikawa's six-volume novel, and, in three parts, tells the story of Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an idealistic technocrat and it's his story, his anguish that contrasts this sprawling epic, which encompasses so many vistas, so many changes of weather and scenery, that this is about as near as a movie gets to recreating the scope of a novel.

It's really about one man trying to change things in the face of so much oppression; a man trying to make things better despite the increasingly hostility and loneliness he suffers.

On one hand he could be seen as a stubborn, self-righteous prig, and, on the other, a true moralist, standing up for the rights of the individual, who usually had no say in how they find themselves, especially as this film is set around WWII, a time of termoil for most.

I enjoyed the film, even though it was the longest I've sat through in about a year. Much of what he goes through in the film resonated with me, in my own experiences. There's a lack of morality and decency in a lot of a humanity, or lack thereof. I bemoan comments like "Well, that's just the way it is." It isn't. It's a choice, and we must never forget that whilst most of us don't understand why we're on planet Earth, our dealings with each other could be a whole lot more productive and happier.