The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

1959 · 3h24 · Film

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, 新珠三千代, Chikage Awashima, 有馬稲子, Sō Yamamura, 石濱朗, 南原宏治, Seiji Miyaguchi, 安部徹, 三島雅夫

Ideal when you feel… Sad / low

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

Updated July 22, 2026

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