The Road to Eternity
The trilogy continues as the newly drafted, idealistic Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadi( is ordered to Manchuria, the site of Japan's longest and most savage atrocities during WWII.He discovers that all of the soldiers are being mistreated by their sergeants and officers and makes a protest.In response, Kaji is accused of being a sympathizer of the Communists (who were the main effective opposition to the Japanese in China) and threatened with court martial and execution.He is tortured but manages to escape, killing a soldier and nearly murdering an officer in the process.When the Allied victory comes, Kaji is the sole survivor of his unit, left alone on a desolate battlefield awaiting his fate.THE ROAD TO ETERNITY was the part of HUMAN CONDITION based most closely on director-writer Masaki Kobayashi's own experiences as a private drafted into the Japanese army and sent to Manchuria where he carried on his own war-of-conscience against the savagery of the army and Japanese society.
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