Human / Ningen (1962) [Repost]

Based on Nogami Yaeko’s original novel, The Neptune, which was based on real-life events, it follows four people stuck on a small fishing ship that is adrift at sea. After running out of fuel and losing their rudder in a storm, they find themselves lost with no navigation, and it’s during Obon, a religious Japanese holiday which means NO ONE will be out looking for them during the festival. They immediately split into two groups, the Captain and his young shipmate ( Taiji Tonoyama and Kei Yamamoto respectively), and headstrong Hachizo (Kei Satô) and Gorosuke (Nobuko Otowa) the woman who is corrupted by Hachizo as the film progresses.

Everyone becomes increasingly desperate as food and water run out. Considering how powerful food is in Japanese culture, I imagine starvation would be the most horrific way to die. There are some really interesting montage sequences where they first ration their food and water and begin to go a little mad, all set to mellow jazz music. The kind of stock jazz you would hear in a lot of Nikkatsu films at the time. Naturally once the provisions are gone, they turn on each other.

IMDB

Note! This is NOT a Criterion release and never been yet. Just a Custom cover. HQ Cover are here (Thanks to primolandia).

Although Kaneto Shindô had been moderately successful working as a writer and director for Daiei (and later Nikkatsu) throughout the 1950′s, by 1960 Shindô was starting to find his true voice as a director. He founded his own production company, Kindai Eiga Kaikyo, to help finance what would be his first masterpiece, The Naked Island. He followed that with Human, an equally awesome little “love story” set on a boat lost at sea. Naturally, without the help of the major studios to back him, Shindô had trouble exhibiting the film. At that same time the fledgling independent cinema group, The Art Theatre Guild was gaining influence with their single art-house cinema in Shinjuku. At that point the ATG was primarily showing foreign films that the majors couldn’t care less about (Fellini, Godard, Bergman, and other no-name hacks), but Shindô’s Human was to be the first domestic title for ATG exhibition (along with Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Pitfall). It was the beginning of the most significant period in Japanese film history, and helped kick start a movement that would completely change Japanese cinema. Coincidentally, when the ATG finally dissolved in 1992, it was Shindô’s latest film, The Strange Tale of Oyuki that closed the curtain.

primolandia

Fantastic! A crew of four on a small fishing vessel get stranded after their ship is destroyed in a storm. They have a small supply of food and water, and soon the tensions are rising. This is just a beautifully shot (in that glorious black and white widescreen that Japan of the 60s excelled at) and directed film. Shindo's use of space is outstanding. Taiji Tonoyama plays the captain, a man who lived through the starvation of the war. Kei Yamamoto plays Tonyama's young nephew. Kei Sato and Nobuko Otowa play the other two crew members, and the ones who decide that they no longer want to follow the captain's orders. This is nearly a masterpiece, but there are a couple of plot developments toward the end that feel a bit too pat. The title translates to A Man, The Man or just Human (which is the translation my subtitles settled on).

IMDB Reviewer

Three Reasons To Watch: Human (1962)
Human is the story of four people on a fish boat, lost in the middle of nowhere after a storm. What happens next?

#1 ON A BOAT
Just like director Kaneto Shindo’s previous effort, The Naked Island, Human is a limited-setting film. Most of the action is set on a fisherman boat, with only four characters to play with.
And yet, the filmmaker manages to take advantage of this situation, using the boat’s limited “resources” as narrative tools to establish who are the characters – the old captain is often seen behind the wheel, even when there’s nowhere to go -, what are their relationships between them – each of the two groups has its own place on the boat…
Enough elements to keep the story paced & involving, with Shindo also playing with the gorgeous B&W cinematography to reinforce the characters’ mixed feelings of despair.

#2 THE HUMAN CONDITION
As a director Kaneto Shindo has always shown deep concerns for the human condition, taking a close at the poor people, their daily difficulties and ultimately how they survive.
Right from its title, the film appears to make a (critical) portrait of humans. And once again, the director only needs a boat and four characters in despair to accomplish that. At the core of the story, there’s hunger – simple basic need! – and how it will push some people to the extreme, ready to do whatever necessary to stay alive. That’s exactly where the director is drawing the line between humanity and beastialy, between hope and unity, against, despair and selfishness. There’s maybe more here than meets the eye, after all, it’s the story of the boat “Sea God,” which is at large. Irony?

#3 TRIP TO HELL
Before turning into a nightmare, the film starts with a naive-lighthearted jazz music, with people helping each other. It looks fun and innocent. And then, the storm happens.
In other words, Human offers a variety of tones, and director Shindo does an interesting job at finding ways to fully express these variations. At first, the film is little bit more dynamic, there’s jazz, it swings. But then, the film starts to get more static, to reflect the deep lack of hope of the characters. That means long takes, close-ups, beautiful B&W – to the point you can almost feel the tiredness, the long hot days, the hunger…

WildGrounds

Special Features: None