It doesn't often happen to me that just under 30 years after seeing a film, I still remember in what state I left the theatre. Supreme confusion it was. Was this all real? As a filmmaker, were you allowed to make your interviewees strike though? Was it staged? It was too gruesome to imagine that anything had really happened. And Kazuo Hara is a case in point. What had I seen? The Emperor's Naked Army Marches on.
Kazuo Hara sets out to find the truth behind the deaths of two WWII regimental colleagues. The wildest speculations are doing the rounds. I won't tell you which ones, because I strongly recommend you go to Eye in Amsterdam Noord and see the film. You have one last chance this afternoon. It is not that often that the film is shown on the big screen. And yet it has made documentary history. Not for nothing is it in Errol Morris' top five.
Full disclosure: I love it when film, or really any art form, confuses me. When I can't have an opinion right away, don't know what exactly it is that I've seen. Asking questions is more interesting than giving answers. And, in my humble opinion, too many answers are given in most documentaries. Often the agenda of the maker, or of the subject, is evident. Many films are overtly political, dealing with injustice, war, problems. Important, but less satisfying for a cinephile. I often miss the experiments in form, the off-kilter, the visual stimuli.
The Emperor's Naked Army is weird, intense and maybe even unethical. But your brain goes full speed ahead.
I look forward to seeing what I think of it this afternoon.
what:The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
Where: Eye at 16:30. Click here for tickets.
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