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Anatahan
Anatahan
7.8
/10
306 Ratings

ANATAHAN

The Saga of Anatahan

Directed by Josef von Sternberg
Japan, 1953
Drama, War

Synopsis

Set during the dying stages of World War II, Anatahan tells the story of twelve Japanese seaman stranded on a forgotten island for seven years. Accompanied only by Keiko, a young Japanese woman, all rationality and discipline are soon overcome by a struggle for power and control.

Synopsis

Set during the dying stages of World War II, Anatahan tells the story of twelve Japanese seaman stranded on a forgotten island for seven years. Accompanied only by Keiko, a young Japanese woman, all rationality and discipline are soon overcome by a struggle for power and control.

Our take

Realized from a first person account of being marooned on the Japanese island of Anatahan after WWII, Josef von Sternberg controversially recreated the disputed events with his baroque, magnetic touch. Whether truth or fiction, Anatahan offers a potent look at social power structures in microcosm.