Cinematic Point Of View

“Barefoot Gen” is an anime directed by Mori Masaki and based on a manga by Keiji Nakazawa, who wrote the story based from his own experiences as a survivor of Hiroshima.

Keiji was only six years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on his hometown of Hiroshima. Miraculously, he miraculously survived the blast, only to be left to survive in a hellish landscape.

With this backstory in mind, it’s easy to understand how the movie makes one of the most powerful statements against war and the atomic bomb I’ve ever seen. It is unflinching in the graphic nature of what it shows as we follow a young boy (Gen) and witness the effects of the atomic bomb on his life and the lives of the Japanese people.

Often compared to the Studio Ghibli film “Graveyard of Fireflies,” directed by Isao Takahata, Graveyard seems like a walk in the park compared to Barefoot Gen.

In the days leading up to the bombing, we follow Gen and his family as they try to survive during the war, always watching the sky in anticipation of an attack. Bombers fly over and everyone hides until the noise has passed. We see the excitement of the Mom expecting a baby. Dad working in a wheat field. Gen and his brother running and playing.

The depiction of the effects of the bomb blast is the most graphic I have ever seen in any medium. Flesh is ripped from bodies. Eyeballs melt from eye sockets. Mother’s clutching their babies are dissolved into dust. It was hard to watch and unlikely would have been unwatchable in any other medium besides animation.

After the bomb is dropped, Gen is forced to witness some truly horrific moments and then survive in a post bomb Japan. His character is put to the test over and over and truly stands as one of the bravest child characters I’ve ever seen. Knowing that this isn’t just conjecture, but based on real life experiences, just makes everything even more impactful and disturbing. It will hit you hard.

The film was made in 1983, so some of the technical aspects of the film aren’t quite up to modern standards obviously. I love this era of animation though. Everything is hand drawn. The audio isn’t quite the studio quality either but for me it makes this whole film even more unique and impactful. It all adds a reality to the production, whether that was intentional or not.

I think the this more cartoonish anime style is the only way I was able to make it through this film. If this had been an anime full of detail and polish it likely would have felt, I don’t want to say exploitive but something along those lines. The way it’s presented now feels more like it would have appeared for a child, if that makes sense.

As the story goes on, there is a near endless onslaught of decaying bodies, maggots in wounds, and all manner of war horror. Not that Gen ever really overcomes the horrific nature of the post bomb world, but he certainly learns to accept it in a way and do what he has to do to help himself and others survive.

The heart of this story is a spirit of survival and perseverance.

One of the more interesting historical facts I learned while watching “Barefoot Gen” is how the Japanese government never told the rest of Japan about the bombing of Hiroshima after it happened. There was no warning for the second bomb. It’s astounding to think of how easily things happened all over the world without anyone knowing. I realize that is naive to say as things happen every day we know nothing about but, something of this magnitude being covered up just seems unimaginable.

This is one of those movies that comes to you when you are ready to see it. I’m glad I am finally watching it after all these years.

Barefoot Gen is available on Amazon Prime but I also found the subtitled film on YouTube and have embedded it below. Would love to hear your thoughts on this film.