Anatahan 1953

     The setting of this film is June of 1944.  This story also inspired the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea.  Twelve Japanese seamen are stranded on an abandoned island called Anatahan.  There are already two inhabitants on the island, a man and an attractive young Japanese woman.  They didn’t leave with the island’s former inhabitants.  The man was the overseer of a now abandoned plantation and the seamen believe they are married.  A former warrant officer is keeping the men in line until he suffers a loss of face.   A power struggle occurs between the men and the one woman.  Later, a crashed airplane is found in the nearby area.  Two pistols and some ammunition are discovered in the wreckage.  Now, the balance of power between the men shifts to the two men with the pistols.  

     Also known as The Saga of Anatahan and this film is based on the true story of Japanese soldiers shipwrecked during WWII.  They refused to believe that the war ended and they also refuse to believe that Japan would surrender.  You can see how the clothing of everyone is becoming more and more worn out over time.  A parachute is found with the plane and many garments were made from this material.  Over time, this material becomes worn out too.  Some clothing and boots are made from palm tree fibers.  I would call this a ‘strange’ movie!!  Instead of having cabin fever, the men have island fever!!  An addition to the fever is the fact that there is only one woman among all the men on the island!!  The story would've been completely different with all men on the island.  3* (This movie is OK)    

92 min, Drama directed by Josef von Sternberg with Akemi Negishi, Tadashi, Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura, Shoji Nakayama, Jun Fujikawa, Hiroshi Kondo, Shozo Miyashita, Tsuruemon Bando, Kikuji Onoe, Rokuriro Kineya.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 100% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 6 reviews, Slant Magazine 3.5* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Kyoto, Japan.  Some of the footage in this film is from  newsreel scenes showing the return of the Japanese troops after Japan surrendered in 1945.  Von Sternberg made this film outside the studio system.  This gave him control of the film and he did the writing, photography and narration.  There was a modest opening in Japan but it did poorly in the United States.  Von Sternberg continued to edit the film for four more years.  Finally, he abandoned the project and started teaching film at UCLA.