Weird. It was the first time I watched it, and because of the popularity of the film, I had to endure the boredom and finish it. Watched it for the second time today and was fascinated by this movie. As I watched, I wondered what this group of soldiers would have been like in peaceful times. Xixiang is probably a childish ghost, complaining all day that the guests are hard to serve and the cakes are not very delicious, but he is a father who loves his wife and children. Ichitake is still an Olympic equestrian champion and attracts everyone's attention wherever he goes. Shimizu is repressed but has a good heart, and probably will not be too happy in life. But when these ordinary individuals are coerced into war and become soldiers, their individual wills are replaced by collective wills and become killing machines. Is this the evil of the individual or the evil of the group? There are too many grand questions behind the war, and I don't even have the ability to think deeply about these questions. The only thing that is clear is the cruelty of war and the fragility of human beings.
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