Desert Island Dueling

I have always been fascinated with the desert island theme, and since I'm a sucker for anything to do with war - especially WWII, Japanese culture, and films made near to my childhood (a warm nostalgia for my dad's telly viewing 'The Great Escape' etc) Hell in the Pacific paid off on various counts. I heard about the fraught making of the film and rented it out of a kind of curiosity, to see if the off-screen story had an impact on screen - it definately gave it a curious edge.

This film is way ahead of its time. It is a claustrophobic character study that pushes past the initial symbolism of war as an identity, and becomes an exploration of human survival, isolation and emotional need. It is almost a silent movie due to the nature of the sparring and the characters different languages, so if you like quick dialogue this may not be your cup of tea. However, the story is entertaining and gripping, with great tension between the characters and fine performances from Marvin and Mifune. It is a tale almost allegorical in it's brave simplicity and well-worth a viewing.