154. Onoda - 10,000 Nights In The Jungle; movie review

 

ONODA - 10,000 NIGHTS IN THE JUNGLE

Cert 15

167 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, bloody images

I clearly remember the newspaper images of the Japanese soldier emerging from the jungle, nearly 30 years after Second World War hostilities had ended.

Thus, I was keen to known more about the back story to Hiroo Onoda... the man who refused to believe that his country would ever surrender.

Arthur Harari takes a bit of a licence, wandering from the facts as laid out in Onoda's book.

Nevertheless, the foundation is faithful to the truth and makes for a tale which really is stranger than fiction.

Yûya Endô plays Onoda as a young man recruited late in the war and sent to the Philippines by a stern senior officer (Issei Ogata) who indoctrinates him into the Japanese cause.

So much so that he arrives to lead beleaguered troops with a passion that they have long since lost.

Thus, he faces dissent or even mutiny as he tries to gather a handful of troops in leading a counter-attack against the Americans.

But he does have a small loyal gang (Yûya Matsuura, Shinsuke Kato and Kai Inowaki) who follow him despite increasing odds.

So how can it be that men continue the battle without any orders or even an enemy?

Even though they almost have the jungle to themselves, Harari's movie has quite a claustrophobic feel to it.

This is largely down to them having to hide in caves and the like to avoid detection even though there is no concerted effort to find them.

Kanji Tsuda plays the older Onoda who has become so acclimatised to the jungle he seems part of its fabric.

The film answers the question of whether Onoda and co. knew whether the war was over or had at least been told it was.

But it asks its audience to decide whether he was crazy to ignore the evidence or was he simply adhering to orders?

I have my view but, either way, Onoda - 10,000 Nights In The Jungle is a compelling watch.

Reasons to watch: Based on an incredible true story

Reasons to avoid: Unnecessarily wanders from the facts.

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Hiroo Onoda died on January 16, 2014, in Tokyo, Japan. He was 91 years old.

The final word. Arthur Harari: "I discovered it (Onoda's book) later when the script was already written and we were about to start shooting. But not having read the book gave me the freedom to invent the character I wanted. For me, Onoda was a fictional driver and I didn’t want to be a prisoner of his subjectivity." 

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