Anatahan (1953)

Anatahan (アナタハン), also known as The Saga of Anatahan, is a 1953 black-and-white Japanese film war drama directed by Josef von Sternberg.

It was the final work directed by noted Hollywood director Josef von Sternberg (although Jet Pilot was released later). Von Sternberg had an unusually high degree of control over the film, made outside the studio system, which allowed him to not only direct, but also write, photograph, and narrate the action. Although it opened modestly well in Japan, it did poorly in the US, where von Sternberg continued to recut the film for four more years. He subsequently abandoned the project and went on to teach film at UCLA for most of the remainder of his lifetime. The film was screened within the official selection during the 14th Venice film festival (1953).

Art director was Takashi Kono, special effects was made by Eiji Tsuburaya and camera operator was Kozo Okazaki.

Synopsis

Juin 1944. Après l'attaque d'un convoi de ravitaillement par un avion américain, des soldats japonais échouent sur Anatahan, en plein Pacifique. Ils découvrent que l'île est habitée par un couple, Kusakabe et Keiko. La vie s'organise et les naufragés goûtent le vin de coco, guettent d'improbables secours et se mettent à courtiser Keiko, dont ils apprennent qu'elle n'est pas mariée à Kusakabe...

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