Pray For Burma

"The Burmese Harp" is an extraordinary 1956 Japanese anti-war film directed by Kon Ichikawa. A Japanese squadron is confronted with the surrender of their country while deep within Burma. Surrendering to the British, the soldiers are faced with their imminent return to their defeated nation. What makes this group of soldiers so special is that their commanding officer was a choir director before the war and so they are an unusually lyrical group of warriors. One of the men, Mizushima, has mastered the playing of the Burmese harp. Called on to plead for peace with the last Japanese battalion holed up in a mountain cave, Mizushima becomes separated from his brother soldiers and begins a spiritual journey that ends with him remaining in Burma as a novice Buddhist monk. The film's plea for reason and higher purpose over conflict and destruction is resonant throughout. Had the character of Mizushima been real one would wonder if he would be a master in a Yagon monastary and an inspiration to his younger charges as they demonstrate against the brutality of the military junta that has brought Burma to ruin. The monk who instructs the young Japanese soldier tells him the blunt truth - England nor Japan will ever control the nation as only Buddha can be the only true ruler. Whatever your religious background one must be amazed to see the dedication of the current monks in their struggle to bring freedom to their people. May we all pray for a miracle so that the Burmese people can live in peace and prosperity.