ARMY ON THE TREE
Kino Ue No Guntai
Adapted from an unfinished work by acclaimed dramatist Hisashi Inoue, ARMY ON THE TREE is inspired by real events on the Okinawan island of Iejima in the final days of World War II. Inoue, whose plays often examined the legacy of war and the shared responsibility of ordinary Japanese citizens, conceived the story as a blend of FIRES ON THE PLAIN and WAITING FOR GODOT.
In 1945, amid a devastating U.S. assault, mainland officer Lieutenant Kazuo Yamashita (Shinichi Tsutsumi), a staunch adherent to the Bushido code, and local recruit Seijun Agena (Yuki Yamada), whose loyalties lie with his community, take refuge in the massive branches of a banyan tree. From their precarious shelter, they wait for reinforcements, venturing down only at night to scavenge for food. Days stretch into months, then years, as hunger, isolation, and the weight of defeat erode their resolve and transform their relationship.
Director Kazuhiro Taira (MIRACLE CITY KOZA, HIFF42, and also co-director of another Okinawan film in this year’s program, STEP OUT) opens up Inoue’s intimate play with a half-hour prologue, visceral combat scenes, and immersive camerawork shot entirely on location in Okinawa. The result is a powerful meditation on survival, shifting loyalties, and the human cost of war—capturing the gradual physical and emotional transformation of two men suspended between life, death, and the haunting memory of battle.
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