The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On | LEFFEST - Lisboa Film Festival

The film follows Kenzo Okuzaki, a Japanese World War II veteran. He lives in Kobe with his wife who, as we come to find out, is dying with cancer. Okuzaki has spent nearly 14 years in jail for several crimes: murder of a real-estate broker, attempted murder of a former Prime Minister, attempting to shoot the Emperor, and handing out pornographic photographs of the Emperor - in short, he is a political activist. Hara's influential work pushes the boundaries of the documentary by pursuing the most “anti-establishment” Japanese man for five years, documenting his relentless quest for justice.

Duration: 122
Production year: 1987
Country: Japan
Subtitles: min Subtitles PT and EN

Caligari Award – Berlin Film Festival 1987

Kazuo Hara

The Japanese director Kazuo Hara, born in 1945, began his artistic career as a photographer, later departing onto film when influenced by student protests and civilian movements throughout the country. With a career spanning five decades, Hara is one of the most controversial living filmmakers, known for his transgressive documentaries attacking Japanese repressive morale. Acclaimed at festivals around the world, two of his films, The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987) and Extreme Private Eros: Love Song (1974), appear in the British Film Institute’s poll of The 50 Greatest Documentaries of All Time. In an interview with Nicolás Carrasco earlier this year, Hara confessed “an innate and deep desire to become a camera”, explaining that, in his work, he regards the camera as his body.