1931年の満州事変から15年間に及んだ日中戦争で、中国に対する侵略行為の実行者となった元日本軍兵士14人を取材し、彼らが行った加害行為の告白を記録したドキュメンタリー。生体解剖や細菌実験を繰り返した軍医、731部隊隊員や、自らの功績や名誉のために拷問と大量処刑を行った憲兵、上級者の下級者に対する私的制裁によって日本軍特有の軍隊機構を叩き込まれ、人間性を喪失した兵士たち。生い立ちや学歴、職業、軍隊での経歴も様々な証言者たちが、人間の行いうる狂気のような行為と弱さ、そして本当の戦争を伝えたいという痛切な思いから、彼ら自身が行った壮絶な事実を語る。2001年製作・公開。19年8月には、東京・シアター・イメージフォーラムにてDCP版でリバイバル上映。
This documentary interviews 14 former Japanese soldiers who carried out acts of aggression against China during the 15-year Sino-Japanese War, which began with the Manchurian Incident in 1931, and records their confessions of the atrocities they committed. The interviewees include military doctors and Unit 731 members who repeatedly performed vivisections and bacterial experiments, military police who conducted torture and mass executions for their own achievements and honor, and soldiers who were drilled into the Japanese military's unique structure through private punishment of lower ranks by superiors, losing their humanity. These witnesses, with diverse upbringings, educations, occupations, and military careers, speak of the horrific facts they themselves carried out, driven by a poignant desire to convey the madness-like acts humans are capable of, their weaknesses, and the true nature of war. Produced and released in 2001. A DCP version was re-screened at Theater Image Forum in Tokyo in August 2019.
Source: cinematokyo.com · Tokyo mini-theater & independent cinema showtimes.