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At the Cowra POW camp, another 100 Japanese prisoners have arrived and pour scorn on their compatriots for having accepted their prison status without a fight to the death for the honour of their Emperor and their families. They stage a revolt and the young Lieutenant McDonald (Andrew Lloyde) is about to open fire on the prisoners when Major Hordern (Simon Chilvers) intervenes and is able to disarm the situation so that the 15 defiant Japanese soldiers are undermined and brought under control. The clip ends on the Japanese leader in the camp, Komatsu (Kazuhiri Muroyama), clearly disturbed by the rebellion.
Curator’s notes
The Japanese soldiers who wish to die rather than submit to captivity are trying to goad the jailers into shooting them. Major Hordern as an older and wiser officer than the young Lieutenant, is able to temporarily resolve the rebellion.
The scene cleverly develops the growing mutual respect between Stan and the young Japanese soldier Junji Hayashi (Junichi Ishada), which will lead to the prisoner alerting Stan to the growing tension in the camp.
The use of subtitles adds to the sense that we are witnessing the Japanese point of view.
