A Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.

A monumental landmark in Japanese cinema, The Human Condition is director Masaki Kobayashi’s magnum opus: an anti-war epic told in three expansive parts. This first instalment introduces us to Tatsuya Nakadai’s naive pacifist, as Kobayashi embarks on his spiralling course from idealism into despair.