Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン) is a historical drama based on the manga of the same name by Nakazawa Keiji.  The film was originally released in Japan in 1983.

    Loosely based on the authors own experiences the story deals with the main character Gen Nakaoka and his pregnant mother struggling to survive the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  Starting with the day before the bombing and ending a number of days later, the story focuses on the panic, horror and struggle of the event and those who survived the initial blast.  Gen loses everyone in his family aside from his mother as their home collapsed in the blast and they were unable to rescue them.  His mother gives birth shortly after but struggle to survive and provide enough nutrition for all three of them.  Gen, who undertakes the role of male provider for his dramatically shrunken family, does everything he can to provide for his mother and newborn sister.  Along with his search for sustainence and help he comes across the most horrific elements of the bombing in the people who survived the initial blast but quickly die from the radiation poisoning.

    This is an incredibly gripping and depressing movie that does well to express the horrors of the atomic bombings.  Nakazawa-sensei had gone on to become an important figure in Japan as both a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima along with his other works in animation and manga.  The character of Gen is based on Nakazawa and some of his experiences following the bombing.  This film is powerful and required viewing for anyone, even those who are not into anime.  It is an important critique of the horrors of modern warfare and militarization.

    A second movie was produced and released in 1986 but I have yet to watch it.  For a long time the second movie was not available but has been released in North America as of a number of years ago.  The original has been available in dub and subtitled formats in North America for a long time and is absolutely required viewing.  But, the subject matter is hard to watch and should be viewed with that understanding.  The movie does not shy away from the horrors of this terrible event.  The manga is also commercially available in North America and i should really put it to the top of my manga list to read.