Rarely have I seen a movie that attempts to encompass everything that makes up the human spirit. And The Human Condition subjects a man to the many facets of war, that which tends to destroy that very spirit. Nakadai plays arguably a career-defining role in Kaji who desperately tries to retain his humanity only to find himself in circumstances that force him to gradually strip that away for that most basic of human needs: survival. But more than anything else, The Human Condition portrays so apt the paradox of man: how can a man fragile in flesh muster such drive, such motivation to move forth? It is that intangible factor that makes the human condition most intriguing. And few movies have captured that better than this.