Another one of Kihachi Okamato’s war films that’s stealthy focuses on its satire, human absurdity and quick yet brutal (for what was allowed in the filmmaking period) battles. Fort Graveyard feels like a very loose remake, or perhaps a spiritual successor, to Desperado Outpost (1959), sharing a similar setting, plot elements and character types. For this 1965 production, though, Okamoto takes the concept in a darker direction, using its character-driven story and dark humor to emphasize the tragedy of war.
In terms of the plot, a recently dispatched group of young men enthusiastically plays their instruments while traveling through the barren Manchurian landscape during the final week of World War II. Along the way, they encounter their recently demoted sergeant, Kosugi (Toshiro Mifune), who meets them midway to their newly assigned base. Nearing the base they encounter Oharu (Reiko Dan) who’s flirtatious and open nature also exposes the young men’s youthful inexperience with women. Once they reach the fort, Kosugi askes the mortician, Mochida (Yunosuke Ito), who is digging a grave if he knows a certain young lieutenant on the base. Mochida confirms he’s digging the grave for the specific man Kosugi is asking about. At that moment shots are fired as the execution is taking place. Kosugi angrily confronts Commander Sakuma (Tatsuya Nakadai) over the lieutenant’s execution. Sakuma confirms he was executed for abandoning his post at Fort Graveyard, located further from the current base, rather than fighting to the death. After Kosugi punches Sakuma, he is sentenced to be imprisoned and executed. Sakuma then meets with the young marching band, having them abandon their instruments and to act as fellow soldiers instead much to their disappointment. Inuyama, (Makato Sato) the base’s pugnacious cook, has a meltdown towards the troops and fights them before being thrown in prison with Kosugi. Also in prison is the starved paranoid pacifist Shiga (Hideyo Amamoto) who refuses to kill even for the Imperial Government. Mochida, feeling sympathetic towards Kosugi, is also thrown in prison for trying to break them out. At Oharu’s urging, Sakuma agrees to free Kosugi on the condition that he leads the band he brought with him in an attempt to retake Fort Graveyard. A near impossible task which Kosugi agrees to, on the condition the young men take their instruments, and that Inuyama, Shiga and Mochida join him. The group then trains the young men to fight like soldiers before setting out on the perilous journey to Fort Graveyard, where they face the even greater challenge of retaking the fort and the ultimately futile effort to hold it.
Overall this is certainly darker than Desperado Outpost (1959). In Okamoto fashion, it blends humor and war in a sense where it’s not distracting the material. You have these war weary adults who have to teach these young inexperienced, virgin boys, to kill the enemy. As harsh as that reality is, it reflects the brutal nature of war. Kosugi, however, stands apart from many of his superiors in the final days of the conflict, as he strongly believes in keeping his men alive whenever possible.
The story is well layered, giving it an almost segmented structure while remaining strongly character driven. WWII films can be incredibly versatile, even in the fiction department, and this setting is taken full advantage of. There is almost a western-like quality to the film, but Okamoto also carefully works satire into the narrative. The characters are given moments of humanity and humor that keep the story moving, which makes the tragic results all the more shocking. At times, the deaths are so absurd that they almost feel pointless, reinforcing the film’s underlying message about the senselessness of war.
The first half of the story is focused on building its characters and atmosphere. By the time everyone embarks to Fort Graveyard, you are extremely invested in their journey. The actual taking and keeping of the fort is quite intense and gives us some of the stronger war battles seen in a Toho film at the time, where the results and who would be a victim hits you hard. The primary climatic battle (which felt right out of a Sam Peckinpah picture) was very moving and depressing to me as it summed up its purpose of the story quite well. At this point I hate to give any spoilers, but what becomes of the remaining band members and what they do to keep morale is touching, yet frustrating which was the idea.
At times it does take a somewhat “dreamy” approach towards some of its scenes that did not execute well for the intention, such as Oharu swimming in front of the young men who notice her figure through the wet clothes, and hungrily stare. The execution of this was a bit off putting. Such as also the one scene where she “happily” decides to sleep with the remaining group of men in an evening’s time. These are the moments where the pacing starts to falter, including the aforementioned scenes with Oharu, and the journey to first base and Fort Graveyard, which could have been a “creative” editing choice though it threw the story off course.
As I mentioned before this story is strongly character driven which gives you time to know and develop with these character’s and they are all strong. That said, Shiga was the one I really wished had a stronger focus. He was just sort of there in a way I feel because Okamoto wanted to give one of his favorite actors, Hideyo Amamoto, a role. Thankfully, though, it’s still memorable enough to leave an impact. The band members are well crafted as young men fresh out of boot camp and are well enthusiastic to perform their duties as musicians, to the point they get carried away enough for the enemy to hear their position. Their devotion seems directed more toward their duty than toward their country or even their own lives, but it demonstrates a level of dedication that Kosugi recognizes. This earns his respect and leads him to make an effort to keep the men alive whenever possible.
Inyuma, who is much too impulsive to be a cook, finds a more exciting purpose and spirit being in the middle of the action on Kosugi’s level, quickly becoming the second most dependable man on the team while retaining a strong sense of cockiness and humor. Mochida is an interesting one. Right off the bat he takes a liking to Kosugi to the point he risks execution to set him free. He shows great empathy for prisoners, even to the Chinese prisoner they pick up later in the movie. Although the study of how it ended for him, also goes with Shiga’s pacifist views being thrown out the door for anger, survival and confusion. As such they are victims of the war much like the people they killed.
Oharu is a bit complicated for me. She is very beautiful and adds a slice of optimism. Her status as a proud sex worker could be controversial given the context of sex workers for Japan in WWII. Even if it were for story purposes, it’s just missing the commentary regarding her situation.
Sukuma is also a very interesting study of a character. The film initially molds you into disliking him, but much like Kosugi, that first impression proves to be misleading. As you get to know him, it becomes clear that beneath his calm demeanor, he is also inexperienced and, rather humorously, has virtually no experience with women, as demonstrated in a couple of scenes involving a delighted Oharu. I only wish the film had given him more time to reflect during its final moments, as his perspective feels somewhat neglected when it matters most.
As for the acting, it is strongly supported by the characters. Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune were arguably Toho’s greatest actors during this period. They match their intensity well with Mifune’s more brass take vs the colder and calculating style of Nakadai. Makato Sato shines here as well. In contrast to his more heroic and gentler personality from Desperado Outpost (1959), he is much more violent here in his performances and carries the action alongside Mifune. Yunosku Ito has always been one of Toho’s amusing actors. He plays a very strange, well-meaning mortician with absolute grace, expressing convincingly the spirit of doing what’s best then confusion when pitted in a strong situation. Reiko Dan is also a very lovely person who does help provide comic relief.
In regards to the music, the soundtrack didn’t necessarily stand out to me, with the exception of the marching band sequences. The score remains fairly subdued, even during the battle scenes, which felt appropriate and may have been composer Masaru Sato‘s intention. In contrast, the band’s music is strongly integrated into the film despite the increasingly grim situations the young men find themselves in. They continue to express pride in their duty, creating moments of amusement while also contributing to the tragedy. As the story progresses, their music almost becomes the voice of Fort Graveyard itself.
Overall, this is one of Okamotos best projects that deserves a spot in the criterion closest. Aside from a few poorly executed techniques, some unbalanced pacing and only a couple questionable character directions, Okamoto greatly balances the different themes without it going overboard.
