The Burmese Harp, a story set in Burma, shows the war among Japanese troops and their enemies. The soldiers, who are participating in the war, die a useless death, which is not at all important to their compatriots or their enemies. When the Japanese troops are supposed to surrender and a soldier is sent to other Japanese troops to tell them to drop their guns, they deny the orders and continue to fight and thereby, continue to die too.
It is at this time, that the soldier realizes the unnecessary contribution that the soldiers make in the war by dying. No one benefits from it. But, still the other soldiers continue to fight and die without any retrospection. They don’t realize that their death would cause no grief for the country. It will just be another soldier dead and nothing more than that. But, they keep fighting for the sake of their beloved country.
The soldier who had been sent by the Japanese troops to the other co-troops, found all this senseless and unnecessary. He eventually refuses to return to the place where he came from and decides to pay homage and respect to the dead bodies by burying them, which were lying all over the war field.
His compatriots do try to call him back, but the soldier transforms himself into a monk. To rejoin his fellow soldiers, Shoji steals the robes of a Buddhist monk and begins to make his way across the countryside. He finally understands that there is no gain in violence and that it should be avoided at any cost. The moment he sees numerous corpses of the soldiers who died for no cause, compels him to change his perception of war. Although he was a soldier himself earlier, he still develops in himself, an aversion from the feelings of hostility and violence. He gets transformed completely and starts making his own way.
It is one of the most important teachings of Buddhism, which tells one to avoid non violence. So, a Buddhist Monk would never let himself get carried away by strong urges of committing violence. It totally depends on the situation that lies ahead of him. He might resort to a certain act of violence only if it is the only way to protect him from a danger. But, even though the world is predicated on war and violence, the moral values are still alive, and no form of violence can be successful in lessening the impact of these values on us, which have been instilled in us since our childhood. Unlike in the movie, Burmese Harp, where, a soldier turned into a monk, the transformation is still sensible.
The difference between the mental levels of the soldier and his compatriots is known when he sends them a letter explaining his inability to return to Japan. He transforms into a monk and develops mentally; whereas, his compatriots are momentarily moved by his letter but the next moment, start thinking about their homes and families.
The Burmese Harp is a film which, even while dealing with war and all its senseless tragedy, refuses to cheapen life and maintains the importance of death.
One of the reviews of the film says that- “…antiwar film was widely hailed at the time of its release for its power and commitment; though by today’s standards it’s likely to appear uncomfortably didactic” (Kehr Dave, Chicago Reader).
Works Cited Page
Kehr Dave, Chicago Reader. Review from rotten tomatoes. Web.