Five Scouts

The first important Japanese war film (the genre did not exist as such before Japan’s war with China), Five Scouts already differed from the expectations of a war film, coming far closer in spirit to two pacifist films inspired by World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front and Westfront 1918. Shot in Manchuria on the scene of actual battles of the war with China (which has been compared in many ways to America’s war in Vietnam), Five Scouts is humanistic in outlook, depicting the soldier as a pawn in a frightening game not his own. David Owens of The Japan Society writes, “The simplicity and directness of its story as well as its superb characterizations have made Five Scouts an enduring classic…. [Director Tomotaka Tasaka’s] strength [was] as a creator of strong, realistic, believable characters…. Each of Tasaka’s five scouts is portrayed as a distinct individual. One is a crusty veteran, one an ambitious leader, one a reckless imp…. Yet it is as an ensemble, both as actors and soldiers, that they work best. This is precisely what made the film popular with audiences and authorities alike, despite the picture doing nothing to glorify war….” —BAM/PFA