WE HAVE NO REGRETS ABOUT OUR YOUTH (NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH)

Japan, 1946, 110 minutes, Black and white.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

We Have No Regrets About Our Youth is one of the earliest movies made by celebrated Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It was made immediately after the end of World War Two, after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the humiliation of the Japanese and the need for a reassessment of their militarism of the early part of the 20th century, especially the '30s in such places as Manchuria. It asks for a reappraisal of the fascist developments in Japan in the period.

The film is based on actual events. Part of the style of the film, especially in the earlier sequences, is to take episodes starting in 1931, moving to 1933, then to 1938 and then to the war period and the war's aftermath. This episodic focus gives us a quick glimpse into the immediate history of Japan as well as highlighting the political and personal issues. Another technique used by Kurosawa is that of front pages of newspapers with their headlines - a succession of headlines outlining, once again, the main historical events as well as their repercussions. In this way, the audience is brought into the atmosphere of Japan in the '30s and '40s, the build-up to their involvement in World War Two.

On the human level, the film focuses on a group of young students, young enthusiasts in the mountains in 1931, despite the foreign policy and the occupation in Manchuria. By 1933, however, more fascist elements are in control in government and even at the universities. With the tension, we see the students becoming divided. Some veer to the left and are accused of being Communist. Some veer to the right and find jobs in the Japanese bureaucracy. The film focuses on a young woman, the daughter of a professor, her love for two men - one of whom is successful, the other of whom is persecuted and eventually killed. She lives her life in his memory.

The film also focuses on a professor, his dismissal, his survival during the war years - and his rehabilitation after the war.

The film works well as a social document with its techniques for highlighting the issues. However, it works as a human drama, the audiences identifying with the young woman, her emotional life during the '30s, the death of her loved one, the humiliation of the professor, the atmosphere of the war, the hard labour, the disdain from people who look down on her policies and were scandalised by her life. Audiences also identify with the professor and his plight. However, in the atmosphere of 1946, we see that many Japanese wanted a reappraisal of what had happened, were critical of the past - and were vindicated as being critics of the regime of the '30s and '40s. In this sense, Kurosawa's film is a contribution to understanding of Japan in its time. It is also significant as one of the earliest films in a very distinguished career that reached from the '40s to the '90s.