Despite the subject matter, this is one of the most physically beautiful films I've ever seen. A difficult story to watch at times and some of the symbolism was a little overdone, but a well crafted movie with great attention to camera angle, set dressing, and - above all - the cinematography. A really stunning work...
9 Reviews
It is dark, it is human and it is vivid.
samxxxul14 July 2020
"Sandakan 8" is a very important film about a (mostly forgotten) shared history between Japan and Malaysia which is based on Tomoko Yamazaki's novel. Kei Kumai will remain an immortal filmmaker through the work he put into this film to portray the patriarchal exploitation. It makes you feel ashamed to be a human. From the beginning it is such a powerful and moving film, yet it is still a compulsive, involving, and utterly heart-wrenching. The screenplay is one of the best ever written: it captures the stories of the Sandakan brothels, the plight of the girls with so much amount of detail, and thus ensures that we don't easily forget what they were put through without distracting from the main story at hand. The film is graceful, breath-taking, and powerful and the parallels are enhanced by details.
One of the most powerful stories ever put on celluloid, mainly because it's based on fact. Needless to say, the end is bittersweet and rather perfect. And the whole troubling two hours getting there will leave you moved in the graveyard scene, for sure, but also enlightened. All in all, I applaud Kei Kumai for not exploiting the script for emotional reasons and cash in on the festival audience.
One of the most powerful stories ever put on celluloid, mainly because it's based on fact. Needless to say, the end is bittersweet and rather perfect. And the whole troubling two hours getting there will leave you moved in the graveyard scene, for sure, but also enlightened. All in all, I applaud Kei Kumai for not exploiting the script for emotional reasons and cash in on the festival audience.
Fantastic Movie
elwin-529 June 2005
This was the movie I saw on my first adult date. I was so encompassed by the story and cinematography that I soon forgot I was reading subtitles.
While the story may seem slow at first once the depiction of another society so far removed in time and place from our own gives the viewer a new look on the what shaped the lifestyle of the Japanese culture
You cannot help but be swept up in the crisis of the time depicted.
We tend to forget the world was not always as it is today, especially for us jaded Americans.
Elwin
While the story may seem slow at first once the depiction of another society so far removed in time and place from our own gives the viewer a new look on the what shaped the lifestyle of the Japanese culture
You cannot help but be swept up in the crisis of the time depicted.
We tend to forget the world was not always as it is today, especially for us jaded Americans.
Elwin
A visual masterpiece, both feminist and humanist
Peegee-327 June 2003
I originally saw this film in 1975 when it was released and later on VHS...and for many years it was my favorite, bar none. Why? It combines the best that movies have to offer....visual grammar, incredibly moving, skillful performances, good directing and a powerful story of the relationship between a young modern Japanese woman and an older more traditional one, who tells of her experiences, being sold into prostitution at age 13, relating it (through flashbacks) to the younger woman. Those are the bare bones of the film...It doesn't begin to evoke the emotion and beauty of what human relationship can mean, as well as the heartless practices that society can inflict on its helpless inhabitants.
A movie unforgotten
moviescorner6 October 2008
This is my first movie which made me weeping. The first time I watched it in cinema was in eighties last century, as a very young man, I maybe could not understand everything in the story,or the history, but I wept,could not help, when I had seen old Osaki crying with Keiko's towel in her hand. This scene has been stayed in my mind forever since that moment.From this film, I have understood that a movie could make you cry! More than twenty years after I watched it,now, as a forty-four years old man, when I had watched the DVD again, it still makes me cry! That is pain in your heart when you see the old woman, now I understand everything in the story, I understand that's the pain of life, pain of the fate. This is not only a movie,but a lesson which teaches us something about humanity, so emotionally. In my heart,Kinuyo Tanaka was the one of greatest actress in the world,I love her,because of "Sandakan No. 8 ",because of her skillful performance,because she has impressed me so much,so long time,because she also made me call her: mum!
A Nutshell Review: Sandakan No. 8
DICK STEEL12 August 2008
Sandakan No. 8 is set in Borneo, East Malaysia in the 1970s, where a writer arrives in the hopes of doing research on the karayuki-san (juvenile prostitute) who thrive in the Japanese colonies in Southeast Asia in the early twentieth century. She finds her mark in aged Osaki, and like most documentarians, spend significant time trying to gain and win over trust using sincerity, and the audience have to bear with about a quarter of the movie dwelling on that building of the trust factor, before we can get transported back to the 1900s, following the life of Osaki as it gets recounted in a series of flashbacks.
I suppose the nature of the subject of the Karayuki-san makes it both controversial and sensitive, and not something to be proud of. In fact, human trafficking to fuel the sex trade is nothing new (and being made into movies such as My Name is Justine, or Lilya 4ever are nothing new too), but perhaps a shameful blip on the Japanese history to have done that to their own. Based on a non-fiction book by author Yamazaki Tomoko and an interview with a former Karayuki-san, you cannot help but see some parallels between some aspects of the story here, and that in Memoirs of a Geisha, though of course this movie came first since it was done in the 70s, and that one happened overseas, while the latter chronicles the life of a fictional geisha in Japan itself.
A common thread would be that they all stemmed from a very pathetic family decision for survival, to have the young daughters sold away first as child labourers, before the passage of time makes them suitable to be pimped in order to repay quickly a lifetime of debt in which their families only get a fraction of. You can't help but be moved by Osaki's inability to better her lot, and you'll find yourself hard pressed not to be sympathetic towards her when she has to resign to her fate, being caught faraway from home, and doing things which are against her wishes. Then of course comes the cursory romance of her "true love" which naturally comes to naught, especially after performing some national service to visiting compatriots of the military. You'll feel for Osaki especially when she disregards good advice, and heads home to Japan only to be faced with discrimination from her own kin, the same ones whom she was sold away to help.
The title referred to the brothel where Osaki was based in, with Sandakan being one of the towns in Borneo at the time, and the Japanese brothels were easily labelled from One to Ten. The film captures a snapshot of history of Borneo in the 70s, where the earlier Sandakan days seemed to have been recreated from man made sets. The movie might seem dated in its presentation and style, with little going on in the present day it is set with attempts to verify the facts that Osaki recounted, but the flashback scenes are nothing short of riveting even though the story might have already been told a couple of times in other forms. But in truth, the payload comes toward the end where the two lead characters finally connect at an emotional level, and at the very last scene, which was extremely poignant in its revelation.
I suppose the nature of the subject of the Karayuki-san makes it both controversial and sensitive, and not something to be proud of. In fact, human trafficking to fuel the sex trade is nothing new (and being made into movies such as My Name is Justine, or Lilya 4ever are nothing new too), but perhaps a shameful blip on the Japanese history to have done that to their own. Based on a non-fiction book by author Yamazaki Tomoko and an interview with a former Karayuki-san, you cannot help but see some parallels between some aspects of the story here, and that in Memoirs of a Geisha, though of course this movie came first since it was done in the 70s, and that one happened overseas, while the latter chronicles the life of a fictional geisha in Japan itself.
A common thread would be that they all stemmed from a very pathetic family decision for survival, to have the young daughters sold away first as child labourers, before the passage of time makes them suitable to be pimped in order to repay quickly a lifetime of debt in which their families only get a fraction of. You can't help but be moved by Osaki's inability to better her lot, and you'll find yourself hard pressed not to be sympathetic towards her when she has to resign to her fate, being caught faraway from home, and doing things which are against her wishes. Then of course comes the cursory romance of her "true love" which naturally comes to naught, especially after performing some national service to visiting compatriots of the military. You'll feel for Osaki especially when she disregards good advice, and heads home to Japan only to be faced with discrimination from her own kin, the same ones whom she was sold away to help.
The title referred to the brothel where Osaki was based in, with Sandakan being one of the towns in Borneo at the time, and the Japanese brothels were easily labelled from One to Ten. The film captures a snapshot of history of Borneo in the 70s, where the earlier Sandakan days seemed to have been recreated from man made sets. The movie might seem dated in its presentation and style, with little going on in the present day it is set with attempts to verify the facts that Osaki recounted, but the flashback scenes are nothing short of riveting even though the story might have already been told a couple of times in other forms. But in truth, the payload comes toward the end where the two lead characters finally connect at an emotional level, and at the very last scene, which was extremely poignant in its revelation.
Sad story
billcr127 May 2012
A female journalist researches the forced prostitution of Japanese women in the 1920s. She interviews Osaki, an old lady living with several cats in a shack at the edge of town. She tells the story in flashbacks, beginning with her trying to help her poor family by getting a job as a maid at a hotel. She works cleaning the rooms for two years and is then is coerced by the owner into becoming a hooker against her will.
Sandakan number eight turns out to be one the many brothels in Malaysia which used slave labor for years, including World War II, as a popular resting point for soldiers from around the world. The movie is based on a non fiction book of the same name which was controversial in Japan, as the women involved were shunned by society.
Osaki's tale is a sad and common one that needs to told. Sandakan 8 is compelling and well made.
Sandakan number eight turns out to be one the many brothels in Malaysia which used slave labor for years, including World War II, as a popular resting point for soldiers from around the world. The movie is based on a non fiction book of the same name which was controversial in Japan, as the women involved were shunned by society.
Osaki's tale is a sad and common one that needs to told. Sandakan 8 is compelling and well made.
The worst of humanity, and the best
evening121 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This movie stunningly depicts the power of focus, listening, and patience.
When journalist Keiko (Kumaki Kunihara) travels to Borneo to research the forced prostitution of Japanese women in the early 1900s, an old lady offers a tip on what to try at a noodle shack. The halting alliance builds to one of stunning power and meaning.
I'm a big fan of world film, but I'd never heard of director Kei Kumai, and this movie leaves me eager to see more of his work. It begins slowly and unassumingly, building to great psychological depth, with superb casting and quiet, moving performances.
Kinuyo Tanaka is wonderful as Osaki-san, who at 14 tearfully leaves home in a little boat, hoping to make money overseas to send back to her impoverished family, and clueless to the horrors awaiting her.
Ms. Kunihara also excels here. I questioned her ethics as she gently probed for information, yet the bond that builds, because Keiko is willing to take her time, transcends such concerns. Sometimes stealth is the only way to the truth.
I've been trying to remember how I found out about this film, wracking my brain, having stumbled upon its mention online. I'm grateful I did. "Brothel" makes a good companion piece to "Manila in the Claws of Light," released just a year later, and which I found even more powerful.
Men, before exploiting women, remember your deep connections with half the human race -- your daughters, sisters, and moms!
When journalist Keiko (Kumaki Kunihara) travels to Borneo to research the forced prostitution of Japanese women in the early 1900s, an old lady offers a tip on what to try at a noodle shack. The halting alliance builds to one of stunning power and meaning.
I'm a big fan of world film, but I'd never heard of director Kei Kumai, and this movie leaves me eager to see more of his work. It begins slowly and unassumingly, building to great psychological depth, with superb casting and quiet, moving performances.
Kinuyo Tanaka is wonderful as Osaki-san, who at 14 tearfully leaves home in a little boat, hoping to make money overseas to send back to her impoverished family, and clueless to the horrors awaiting her.
Ms. Kunihara also excels here. I questioned her ethics as she gently probed for information, yet the bond that builds, because Keiko is willing to take her time, transcends such concerns. Sometimes stealth is the only way to the truth.
I've been trying to remember how I found out about this film, wracking my brain, having stumbled upon its mention online. I'm grateful I did. "Brothel" makes a good companion piece to "Manila in the Claws of Light," released just a year later, and which I found even more powerful.
Men, before exploiting women, remember your deep connections with half the human race -- your daughters, sisters, and moms!
One of my ten favorites
goster22 December 2003
Never overacted, yet powerfully moving. I've watched it many times, and it never loses its impact. No one I've watched it with have left unshaken. It's impact is in the same class as "Sophie's Choice"; can there be higher praise? If this movie can leave you unmoved, you have a heart of stone.
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