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Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hiroo Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line: no suicide; stay alive whatever happens; the mission is more important than anything else. Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, this role will be to wage a guerrilla war until the return of the Japanese troops. The Empire will surrender soon after; Onoda, 10,000 days later.

Top Cast

  • Yuya Endo

    Yuya Endo

    Young Onoda

  • Kanji Tsuda

    Kanji Tsuda

    Old Onoda

  • Yuya Matsuura

    Yuya Matsuura

    Young Kozuka

  • Tetsuya Chiba

    Tetsuya Chiba

    Old Kozuka

  • Shinsuke Kato

    Shinsuke Kato

    Shimada

  • Kai Inowaki

    Kai Inowaki

    Akatsu

  • Issey Ogata

    Issey Ogata

    Major Taniguchi

  • Taiga Nakano

    Taiga Nakano

    Tourist

  • Nobuhiro Suwa

    Nobuhiro Suwa

    Onoda's Father

Overview

Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hiroo Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line: no suicide; stay alive whatever happens; the mission is more important than anything else. Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, this role will be to wage a guerrilla war until the return of the Japanese troops. The Empire will surrender soon after; Onoda, 10,000 days later.

Rating

7.1 / 10
155 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    7 Mar 23, 2025

    In anticipation of the Allied landings on the Philippine island of Lubang, the Japanese send a small squad to engage in some guerrilla warfare activities pending the reorganisation of their own troops ready to return in due course. Amongst these men is the young Lt. Hiroo Onoda. He is an idealistic young man who firmly believes in his cause and is determined to do what he can, for as long as he can. Now what we know from the outset is that his nation surrenders in 1945, one year after these troops are deployed - but nobody tells Onoda. With his small squad still patrolling the island, their team begins to fracture. Their discipline to fail. The relentless monsoon rains; disease and the activities of the locals begin to reduce their number but he is adamant that he will stay on duty for as long as it takes - even if that takes us into the 1970s. Both Yûya Endô as the younger man and Kanji Tsuda as the older one play their parts convincingly as the story, based on real facts, illustrates the tough life amidst the dense jungle where they are seemingly abandoned by their own side and left to their own, limited, devices. The story mixes the timelines so we skip from young to older, and that’s quite effective at breaking up the story to avoid it being just a straightforward chronology. It also uses the other characterisations to demonstrate the increasing frustrations of these men as personalities clashed and loyalties, and authority, is tested. As we proceed their’s becomes more of a brotherhood than an army unit, and that makes the tragedies and misfortunes that befall them all the more poignant. It’s history, so there isn’t much latitude as to the denouement, but when we do get there it’s quite a touching conclusion that seems just a bit rushed, but entirely fitting.

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