In June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan for seven tense years The island's only inhabitants are the overseer of the abandoned plantation and an attractive young Japanese woman. Soon, the men's struggle for power and the woman begins. ~~ Based on a true story and adapted from the novel written by one of the survivors. *Directed and co-written by Josef von Sternberg. Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- עברית / עִבְרִית
- dansk
- Native Title: アナタハン
- Also Known As: The Saga of Anatahan , The Devil's Pitchfork
- Screenwriter: Asano Tatsuo
- Genres: Historical, Drama, War
Cast & Credits
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![Negishi Akemi in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Negishi Akemi in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Negishi AkemiKusakabe Keiko / "Queen Bee"Main Role -
![Nakayama Shoji in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Nakayama Shoji in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Nakayama ShojiNishioSupport Role -
![Fujikawa Jun in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Fujikawa Jun in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Fujikawa JunYoshisatoSupport Role -
![Kondo Hiroshi in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Kondo Hiroshi in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Kondo HiroshiYanaginumaSupport Role -
![Amakusa Shiro in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Amakusa Shiro in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Amakusa ShiroAmanumaSupport Role -
![Kitagawa Chizuru in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)]( "Kitagawa Chizuru in Anatahan Japanese Movie (1953)")
Kitagawa Chizuru Unknown
Reviews
Just go watch Lost instead
Anatahan is a fictional retelling of the Japanese soldiers stranded on the Pacific island of Anatahan from 1944 to 1951. In both the real story and this one, they refused to believe the war was over.This film features a Japanese cast and has dialogue all in Japanese, but the director (who also narrates the story in English) is a white dude who lathers the story with a heap of racist exotification and sexism. All in all, it's a pretty Western production.
As such, the story ends up as a crude Lord the Flies with the one woman on the island tossed around as part of the ongoing power struggle. The narrator and the other characters spend the entire film objectifying and harassing her (also content warning for domestic violence and rape, if you plan on watching this).
It's a shame because the premise of the story is an interesting one. Holding out on a stranded island for years on end has been the premise of many of a good piece of cinema. Yet this film flops. Badly.
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