The Human Condition

“UNEQUIVOCALLY THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE  . . .
This powerful epic dwarfs every other film made up to the present."
David Shipman, The Story of Cinema

“AMAZINGLY POWERFUL . . . A SPRAWLING EPIC OF LOVE, WAR,
HEROISM AND CRUELTY . . . Kobayashi’s monumental film can clarify
and enrich your understanding of what it is to be alive."
A. O. Scott, New York Times

NOVEMBER 2, 5-7, 11, 16

NEW 35mm PRINT! ► A major cinematic event! Masaki Kobayashi’s monumental anti-war masterpiece, a 9¾- hour trilogy in three epic parts, is available in immaculate new 35mm prints for the first time in decades. Kobayashi, noted director of the sumptuous samurai dramas Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion, and the Oscar-nominated quartet of ghost tales Kwaidan, was a major figure, with Kurosawa, Kinoshita and Ichikawa, of the new generation of Japanese filmmakers that emerged in the postwar period. His remarkable work is known for its great humanism, its fiercely anti-militarist stance, and its epic scale, lyrical beauty, and superb use of widescreen. These virtues are on ample and enthralling display in The Human Condition, a searing indictment of Japan’s wartime occupation of Manchuria (and of the dehumanizing effects of war), as seen through the eyes of a young pacifist. Based on an epic novel by Jumpei Gomikawa, and on Kobayashi’s own wartime experiences, The Human Condition features star actor and Kobayashi fixture Tatsuya Nakadai as Kaji, a young idealist and would-be socialist transformed by the course of events into an embittered, disillusioned, battle-hardened soldier. In Part I, No Greater Love, Kaji, a civilian and conscientious objector, takes a supervisory job at a Japanese-run mine in Manchuria, where he and his beloved Michiko (Michiyo Aratama) are appalled by the gross mistreatment of Chinese labourers and POWs. Part II, The Road to Eternity, finds Koji forcibly conscripted into military service. Promoted to officer, he attempts to better the harsh lot of recruits, but only earns the disdain of his fellow officers. In Part III, A Soldier’s Prayer, the Japanese are in defeat, fleeing the advancing Soviets. Kaji, captured and mistreated by the Red Army, loses any illusions he still harbours about the Soviet system as a force for human liberation. Each film in the trilogy is entirely self contained, and can be appreciated on its own. All three parts will be screened in a special Remembrance Day marathon on Wednesday, November 11. B&W, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 587 mins. in three parts.

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SHOWTIMES - click links below to buy tickets

Part I: No Greater Love (1959)
208 mins. + 10min. intermission
Monday, November 2 – 7:00 pm
Thursday, November 5 – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, November 11 – 12:00 pm (Noon)

Part II: The Road to Eternity (1959)
183 mins. + 10min. intermission
Friday, November 6 – 7:00 pm
Monday, November 9 – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, November 11 – 4:00 pm

Part III: A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)
196 mins. + 10min. intermission
Saturday, November 7 – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, November 11 – 8:00 pm
Monday, November 16 – 7:00 pm

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SCHEDULING NOTE! ► Although each of the three parts of The Human Condition can stand on its own, the trilogy has been scheduled to maximize opportunities to see it in its entirety. It may be viewed over three consecutive Mondays (November 2, 9, 16), over three consecutive evenings (November 5, 6, 7), in a single-day Remembrance Day marathon (November 11), or in any mix-and-match combination of the above. Our regular single bill admission prices ($9.50 Adult/$8.00 Seniors & Students) will be in effect for each part, with the exception of the Remembrance Day marathon, for which regular single, double, and special triple bill pricing will be in effect.

Remembrance Day Marathon!
Part I – 12:00 pm (Noon)
Part II – 4:00 pm
Part III – 8:00 pm

Ticket Prices for Wednesday, November 11 marathon:
One Part – $9.50 Adult/$8 Seniors & Students
Two Parts – $11.50 Adult/$10 Students & Seniors
Three Parts – $20 Adult/$17 Students & Seniors

Please note: Triple Bill Marathon tickets are only available for purchase at the door.