"You're just filming this and doing nothing to stop it?"

" . . . violence is my forte."

An aging but violent veteran looking for divine redemption beats up other veterans in order to find the truth about possible cannibalization during World War 2 in this ethically dubious, always enthralling, and completely batshit documentary that is even crazier than it sounds.

pulverises the glory of war into the finest dust

Got consistently blindsided while watching this. Everything that unfolds is absolute insanity, from the horrors of war to the ridiculous methods of acquiring testimonies, right through to the epilogue. Heavy subject matter but an absolute must-watch.

Why are they naked tho

"Today, I came here fully prepared to beat you up." is the hardest line of all time. Violence is bad but violence yields results, kenzo okuzaki was a mad man.

I was pretty hungry while watching this. Good thing I watched this alone

Trying to get the band back together (and make them admit to war crimes).

An absolute stunner of a documentary. Kenzo Okuzaki’s mission of fighting for the truth(almost at times literally) about horrific war crimes borders on insane and inspiring. The tug of whether his actions are morally justified or not, to the very end, where even his poor wife continues the great fight, are incredibly difficult to process. Should there be mercy for those that keep the darkest of truths, memories, and traumas repressed? Okuzaki clearly thinks not and while he has plenty of ammo to sling at those he confronts, he seems to have just as much compassion for the victims and their families. Kazuo Hara shoots Okuzaki and his actions in plain sight, which asks greater questions about its provocative images and ideas unto its audience, which is what any great documentary should do.

Why are they naked tho

“We were at war, in a jungle and could have died at any moment. I can’t really tell you everything that happened.” [translated.]

Highly recommended. A confrontational documentary about a former soldier demanding answers for mysterious deaths of his comrades decades after the fact, The Emperor’s Naked Army is a highly unique experience. It’s angering and nerve wracking and visceral, and the answers that are ultimately uncovered make the main subject’s methods not only make sense (even if still unethical) but feel very warranted.

In their best-known and most highly regarded film, Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi follow Kenzo Okuzaki—a 62-year-old veteran notorious for slinging pachinko balls at the Japanese emperor—on his single-minded campaign to denounce imperialism and expose the truth about war atrocities committed by Japanese officers in New Guinea in 1945. Consistently recognized as a masterpiece of nonfiction cinema—and a favorite of both Michael Moore and Errol Morris—The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On peels back deeply disturbing aspects of Japanese history in order to provocatively evoke considerations of retribution, ethics and the nature of evil.

Now playing virtually in the U.S. and Canada until 7/2 as part of Cinema as Struggle: The Films of Kazuo Hara & Sachiko Kobayashi

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

If you want to see an angry (yet eerily calm) elderly Japanese man beat up several other elderly Japanese men for not telling the truth about war crimes, this is the film for you!

Got consistently blindsided while watching this. Everything that unfolds is absolute insanity, from the horrors of war to the ridiculous methods of acquiring testimonies, right through to the epilogue. Heavy subject matter but an absolute must-watch.

A very angry and violent mans search for the truth.

وثائقي مثير وجامح

A mesmerising documentary about a part of history I know little about and watching the film makes me want to learn more about it. A harrowing and vital film made with such tenacity

sólo m he enterado d q había caníbales 🤐

i loved this movie, guerrilla-style documentaries are the most interesting shit to watch

I think this might be the best *anti-war* film ever made. Kenzo Okuzaki attempts to dispel all notions of honor surrounding Japan's imperial warfare by directly confronting his superiors over the monstrous, unconscionable, things they did to soldiers under their command.

I think he succeeds in this. The image of glorious conquest is sanded away to reveal rickety old men who mostly lie and deflect about atrocities committed; but not without Okuzaki revealing himself to be *completely* consumed by trauma. One who cannot shake off his guilt over surviving, no matter how much he lashes out at those he deems responsible for all the horror. His experiences in World War 2 have clung to him, like any hint of who he was beforehand has been annihilated, and has been replaced by blinding rage.

I don't think you need a more compelling argument as to why war is hell.