Part of Portraying the Human Condition: The Films of Masaki Kobayashi and Tatsuya Nakadai
Saturday, May 16, 2015, 1:00 p.m.

With Tatsuya Nakadai in person

Dir. Masaki Kobayashi. 1959, 208 mins. 35mm. With Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama. A pacifist conscripted into the Japanese army against his will, Kobayashi spent the entire war as a grunt private, and subsequently channeled his grueling experience into the epic The Human Condition. Drawn from a six-volume novel by Jumpei Gomikawa, The Human Condition is often counted among the greatest of moviegoing experiences. Part I introduces protagonist Kaji (Nakadai) and his sweetheart, Michiko (Aratama), both working for a steel company in Japanese-controlled Manchuria. Self-righteous leftist Kaji takes a new job at the company’s mines, but when his conscience is upset by the inhuman treatment of Chinese workers and he resists the casual brutality of the military police, he is drafted to fight for Japan.

Tickets: $15 ($9 for Museum members at the Film Lover, Dual, and Family levels / free for members at the Silver Screen level and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with any questions regarding online reservations.)

All tickets include same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.