KABEI–OUR MOTHER, DEMONSTRATES THE SUFFERING OF JAPANESE CIVILIANS DURING WORLD WAR II
Directed by Yôji Yamada, Kabei–Our Mother (Kâbê), is a biopic of the Nogami family during the years 1940-1945. After a portrayal of the family’s woes in the first half of the film, one tragic death after another piles up, with a weeping unimaginable among “happy talk” Japanese. The problems begin when humanities professor Shigeru “Tobei” Nogami (played by Mitsugoro Bando) is arrested in a Tokyo prefect during February 1940 for a “thought” violation: Contrary to the newspeak-named Peace Preservation Law, he has questioned Japan’s invasion of China in his writings. For the authorities, the invasion is an “incident” or even a “crusade,” politically correct language from which the good professor dissents. Indeed, the party line is that Japan is uniting Asia, Germany is uniting Europe, and eventually Japan will defeat Germany and rule the world. In the meanwhile, of course, the Nazi regime and Japan are allies. His spouse, Kabei (played by Sayuri Yoshinaga) must therefore hold together the family, which consists of two daughters, Hatsu (played by Mirai Shida) and her younger sister Teru (played by Miku Sato), the writer of the biography, who provides voiceovers from time to time. Kabei’s father, a member of the police in another prefacture, visits the jail where Nogami is held so that Kabei and their daughters can visit, bringing food and clothing, though the daughters cannot visit him after he is transferred to prison. Her sister-in-law Hisako (played by Rei Dan) comes from Hiroshima to cook, while Kabei takes an elementary school teaching position in art and music. Her cantankerous brother also visits, providing comic relief. But the household’s mainstay is one of Nogami’s devoted students, Yamazaki (Tadanobu Asano), who helps around the house and in emergencies until he is drafted into the Navy despite hearing and vision disabilities. The most politically awkward scenes involve arrogant criminal justice personnel, a prosecutor, volunteers warning citizens to avoid luxury spending, and emperor worship, but the underlying theme is how seriously all the Japanese take their responsibilities, even if misguided. MH