Caterpillar

Japan

Blistering, brutal, frank, lacerating, ugly...all terms that come to mind to describe this film.

In 1940 a Japanese lieutenant comes home a highly decorated war hero...mute, armless, legless, deaf...a caterpillar. His wife, who we later learn was brutalized by this guy before he left to brutalize Chinese women, is expected to take care of him, feed him, clean him, provide for his still-insatiable sexual needs and periodically parade him around the village for the inspiration of the local morons who revere this 'war god.'

The film is the evolving battle of wills between the war god and the wife which gives a humanistic cast on the story and keeps it from being merely an anti-war polemic. The actress playing the wife was brilliant and deserved her best actor award at Berlin.

Extremely effective in getting its message across. No fun to watch but I'm glad I persevered. I'll never forget this one.

8