Barefoot Gen (1983)

the audience applauded

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I was warned that this movie was graphic and heart wrenching, but being curious I decided to watch it as I have seen graphic dark animation before such as Grave of the Fireflies, Watership Down, Plague Dogs, When the Wind Blows, Felidae etc so I thought I would be able to handle it... Boy was I wrong.I learned that the effects of the bomb were horrible but not this horrific. Just seeing people including young children melt away to nothing, dogs yelping in pain as it's coat caught on fire, horribly unrecognizable,graphically burnt people walking down the street like zombies (Were they still alive?) a mother laughing hysterically after losing her family... This had struck me down to the core watching this and lasted hours after watching the film. I also kept thinking... How can humankind be so cruel? This movie was hard to watch but movies like this should not be hidden. Movies like this should be view to the world for hopes on peace. Never again should this happen.

I'll admit that there were moments throughout this movie that really did move me and I'm sure they'll be many for you too.I was stuck between the cloaked jovial and optimistic nature that it began with, based on the characters it centered on, even though being fully aware I was an watching an anime/film and also it's unnerving character study of sorts.What's you'll see in "Barefoot Gen" is a frightful though provoking tale,of an event never to be forgotten, that occurred at 8:15 am on an August morning in 1945, as one of the many concluding and devastating catastrophes of WWII.I didn't know whether to laugh at moments, or to go with my gut instincts and be stricken with awe, by the poignant portrayal,depicted before me,of the lives the Japanese "PEOPLE" had lived before and after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima.I say "PEOPLE" because what were dealing with,in this interpretation of the events,is simply that;everyday people, normal human beings, like you and me, who were just powerless to decisions made by their corrupt government officials, trying to satisfy their insatiable appetites of greed and power.The political context, when such a historical event is retold, can not be escaped.However, I don't see this as an anti-war story and Japan was not completely innocent, but no innocent person, man, woman, or child, should have to suffer for the wrong doings of a country they have no power over and to then share the blame when they themselves are blameless, is quite simply a human rights violation.I think the film shows the power of the human spirit, however clichéd that may sound, but I think it is true.When all hope is literally gone, what else have you got to rely on, but your own self will,or the love you have for others to see you all through, to a better day.That's what I think you'll get from "Barefoot Gen".The story of a young boy whose loses half of his family, due to this horrific disaster and how he copes with it.Pushed on by his hunger for food and the love for his mother, with expectant baby sister due.Overall, this a wonderfully moving anime,full of wisdom,drama and light hearted moments that is good for a one time watch.However, return viewings would be a must for teaching younger generations to come, in a colourful and engaging way, the depravity of humanity at times and the strength of will we all must have to help eradicate it.

Keiji Nakazawa survived the bombing of Hiroshima, and grew up wanting to become a manga artist. He moved to Tokyo and told nobody there about his experiences until the death of his mother triggered a determination to call everyone involved to account for the bombing and the war. In Barefoot Gen he not only exposes the horrors of nuclear war, but also criticizes the militarization of Japanese society in the war years, and the sometimes abusive nature of its family traditions. The film retains the simple graphic style of Nakazawa's original art, which makes the horrors it depicts all the more terrifying. The film's images seem expressionistic, almost surreal, but they record what actually happens under a nuclear blast. Despite all that Gen has lost and endured, he is determined to live, making this a difficult film to watch, but an important and ultimately positive one. The trauma of Hiroshima haunts many anime, but only in Barefoot Gen do you really see what it was like at ground zero.

I've read the comic books of barefoot gen when i was in the elementary school. My teacher had the whole series of it, and i was really horrified when i first read it, but i was very curious and was into it after all. When I saw the movie, I liked the comic book better, but still it describes the horror of the war. I watched this movie with my grand parents who was in Hiroshima at that time, who really experienced it, said this movie describes it so well. hopefully I think anyone would experience this sad incident again, but it is really important to get an idea of what had happened in the real world. this movie is the best way i know to get a sense of it.