The Burmese Harp

Toward the end of the Second World War, a company of the Japanese Imperial Army is stranded in the Burmese jungle. Its men, led by Captain Inouye, are taken prisoner by British troops. One of them, Mizushima, is valued by his comrades both as a harp player who keeps their spirits up and as a scout. He is sent to persuade a group of Japanese soldiers holding out in a cave to surrender, and he is the only one who comes out of that mission alive. While his company believes him dead, Inouye refuses to give up hope that Mizushima is still living somewhere.

The film belongs to the early phase of Kon Ichikawa's career: it is the third of the fifteen features he directed, following 12 Chapters About Women and preceding Punishment Room. Natto Wada wrote the screenplay, Masayuki Takaki produced it for Nikkatsu Corporation, and the cast includes Rentaro Mikuni as Captain Inouye, Shōji Yasui as Mizushima, Jun Hamamura, Taketoshi Naitō, Shunji Kasuga and Kō Nishimura. Running 117 minutes, it blends drama, music and war.

The response has remained strong over the decades. On IMDb it holds 8 out of 10 from roughly 7,200 votes, and on TMDB 7.8 out of 10 from a much smaller electorate of 176. A critics' rating of 8.6 out of 10 from 10 reviews places professional assessment above both audience scores, suggesting the film is held in particularly high regard by reviewers.