Screening of ‘Burmese Harp’ at Faith UMC

TORRANCE — “The Burmese Harp” (1956, 2 hours, 23 minutes), directed by Kon Ichikawa, will be shown on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 5 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 2115 W. 182nd St., Torrance.

When a Japanese platoon surrenders to British forces in Burma in 1943, the platoon’s harp player, Mizushima (Shoji Yasui), is selected from the prisoners of war to deliver a request for surrender to a Japanese regiment holed up on a mountain. Mizushima fails to convince the soldiers to accept defeat, and a last stand commences.

Traumatized by the bloodshed of his fellow countrymen, Mizushima disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and begins a journey toward peace of mind amid the chaos.

“The Burmese Harp” (“Biruma no Tategoto” in Japanese) won an award at the Venice International Film Festival in 1956 and was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film the following year. It was Ichikawa’s first film released internationally

Bring your own dinner. Free admission and popcorn. Short reflection after screening. For more information, call (310) 217-7000 or visit www.faithsouthbay.org.

The year’s Japanese film showings conclude on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. with Akira Kurosawa’s classic “Seven Samurai” (1954, 3 hours, 27 minutes).

There will be no showing in December. Movies will resume Sunday, Jan. 20, with Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro.”