Onoda

This gripping biopic recounts the remarkable true story of soldier Hiroo Onoda (played in youth by Endo Yuya and in older age by Tsuda Kanji). Recruited to the Japanese Army, Onoda is sent to the Philippines during the Second World War, where he ends up hiding in the jungle for almost three decades, unaware the conflict is over. Starting towards the end of Onoda's time in hiding, the film flashes back to reveal how he first found himself leading a ragtag band in the war, before their number dwindles and he is left alone. Director Arthur Harari cleaves close to Onoda throughout, first during the violence of conflict and then as he and his buddies try to survive and maintain their sense of self with the passing of the years. An intense character study of camaraderie and commitment emerges, one that also strikes a melancholy note about the power of propaganda and a life "lost" in service of a war that had long since ended.