Hadashi no Gen (1983)

Director:

Mori Masaki

Writer:

Keiji Nakazawa (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Bombing Of Hiroshima As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Boy.

Plot:

A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Bomb | Barefoot | Atomic Bomb | Fire

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Issei Miyazaki	...	Gen Nakaoka (voice)
Masaki Kôda	...	Shinji Nakaoka / Ryuta Kondo (voice)
Seiko Nakano	...	Eiko Nakaoka (voice)
Takao Inoue	...	Daikichi Nakaoka (voice)
Yoshie Shimamura	...	Kimie Nakaoka (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	Hidezo (voice)
Katsuji Mori	...	Seiji Yoshida (voice)
Taeko Nakanishi	...	Hana (voice)
Junji Nishimura	...	Boku Pak (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	(voice)
Kôji Yada	...	(voice)
Yasurô Tanaka	...	(voice)
Ryôichi Tanaka	...	(voice)
Masaharu Satô	...	(voice)
Kyôko Tongû	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

Barefoot Gen (International: English title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Chile:14 | Australia:PG | Canada:14A | Finland:K-12 | France:-12 | India:A | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Company:

Mad House

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hadashi no Gen 2 (1986)

What really went down in Hiroshima

Barefoot Gen is the autobiographical story of manga artist, Keiji Nakazawa and his experience during the times of the Hiroshima bombings in 1942. What ensues is something so unbelievable, so gritty, so real, it will change your life forever.

The film is adapted as an anime from Keiji's short manga series depicting all that he experienced just at the age of six when the bombings hit. His story truly is one of the most amazing things you will ever hear. Nothing else in film has ever captured the effects of the bombings in such a real and emotional way. It shows the viewers what really did happen and what we were never told. It shows us how real the bombings really were as we follow Gen through his struggle for survival during Japan's darkest hours.

If you haven't seen this film, you are missing out. While the film does not hold back on the gritty details, and what happens to the people of Japan throughout the whole of the film is very horrifying, you cannot miss this film due to these aspects. It's these things that make it so real and it would be a tragedy to ignore this film. It opened my eyes to what really went down in Hiroshima and I almost felt personally affected. During my whole time watching this film, I kept finding myself in disbelief that something like this actually occurred in our history, and recently at that. I mean, a whole society was rebuilt on the effects of the bombings and once again shows us how very, very wrong war is. One of the best films I have ever seen.

9.5/10 Hamish Kearvell A.K.A Screaming Japan Productions - www.myspace.com/screamingjapanproductions