Review of The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987) by Tsubaki S — 08 Jan 2012

It's an angry movie, even with strong touches of dark humour, and you can't blame Okuzaki for being mad when everyone else acts like nothing ever happen. The man is clearly unstable, and you could even accuse the makers of this film of exploiting the whole thing.

But his anger is honest, and the apathy of the people around him is both sad and frustrating. The constant contrast between the super polite Okuzaki, and his Mr Hyde persona makes the movie a sharp critique towards Japanese rituals of conduct, and how Japanese society has become so used to numb their senses than they can't even feel regular human emotions anymore.

"Are you robots?" asks Okuzaki to a group of cops watching him. Maybe they do feel something, but they don't know how to express it anymore, and that's probably what pisses Okuzaki the most.

The man wants a reaction from a country that has shut down said reactions from it's citizens a long time ago.