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Availability last checked Oct 9, 2026.
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- Watch the movie with a subscription on The Criterion Channel (HD).
What it's about
In the World War II, the pacifist and humanist Japanese Kaji accepts to travel with his wife Michiko to the tiny Manchurian village Loh Hu Liong to work as supervisor in an iron ore mine to avoid to be summoned to the military service. Kaji works with Okishima (Sô Yamamura) and he implements a better treatment to the laborers and improves the mine production. When the feared Kempetai (The "Military Police Corps", the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945) brings six hundred Chinese POWs to the mine, Kaji negotiates with their leaders expecting them to control their comrades. However the methods of Kaji upset the corrupt system in the site, and the foreman Furuya (Kôji Mitsui) plots a scheme to use the naive Chen (Akira Ishihama) to turn off the electrical power of the barbwire fences to allow the prisoners to escape. When seven prisoners are falsely accused of an attempt of fleeing, a cruel Kempetai sergeant uses his sword to behead the prisoners. When Kaji protests, the POWs react sparing the lives of four prisoners but Kaji is arrested and tortured. When he is released, he is summoned to join the army and accused of being Red.
Cast and crew
- Director
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Starring
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima
Details
- Release date
- Dec 14, 1959
- Language
- Japanese, Mandarin
- Country
- Japan
- Awards
- 5 wins & 1 nomination total
Where to Watch The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959) in the US — common questions
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- The Human Condition I: No Greater Love is available with a subscription in the United States. Watch the movie with a subscription on The Criterion Channel (HD).
- Can I stream The Human Condition I: No Greater Love or do I have to rent it in the United States?
- Watch the movie with a subscription on The Criterion Channel (HD).
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- We have not confirmed a free option for The Human Condition I: No Greater Love in the United States.
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