D700M’s review published on Letterboxd:
Through all the great cinematic achievements I have watched, since I entered deeply into the sophisticated cinema that follows a several conditions to digest it properly, which contains a slow pace with a sharp themes that tells by an explicit style to makes the film profoundly realistic, and simple enough to makes you realize that cinema is a wide scope to get into; where the characters and the vision of the slow cinema are establishing through a different way that its narration is not for everyone, and unlike other films that have the same genre, which have a special technique to depict its themes and stories, where its messages are delivered realistically, even though the film has a fiction ideas, themes, stories... etc, as long as its main purpose is realistic and real, it does not matter if there are plenty of fantasy meanings in it.
I have watched a lot of humanistic depictions in films that have a flawless visualization on human conditions in life, where these films were demonstrates its messages and details perfectly, and which means that art is unlimited from all aspects literally; and cinema is like those huge mountains that it is difficult and you can not reach out to it easily, where is sometimes the impossible becomes accessible, but that is only with an extreme of difficulties, and this a certain thing for sure. Masaki Kobayashi is a director who I admire greatly, and he considered as one of the perfect directors in cinema history, and that is a cinematic fact! His films are incredibly heartfelt in every sense, that were made a monumental inspiration for those directors who came after thoroughly, which makes his place in cinema hugely known and clearly inspired many people who adore cinema sincerely, and especially the humanistic drama genre; where his films were implicit by the bold themes, marvelous methods, acclaimed details, and luxurious directions that carries the films and made them remarkably memorable. Since I watched his film Harakiri (1962) two years ago, and Kwaidan (1965) almost three months ago, I was deeply influential by his way to portray and characterized such these gigantic themes and exquisite visions towards the audiences precisely, and how he applied those sorrowful subjects that no one can make it but ones who have a wise mind, and a stunning ability that reach out to the perfection cinematically. Another element in his films I adore very much, is the cinematography, where in his films becomes one of the striking things that you can see it by your eyes, and feel it by your senses clearly; which was made in his films carefully, and this is an unbelievable thing itself, and you can write a long essay for it only. His style in his films is something will stuck in your mind and will striking you for prolonged, where it is another element that you can write a long article for it only; as far as I know about cinema, this thing is nothing but admirable for anyone loves cinema as much as I do, and particularly the slow cinema that its films are its extrnal shape is seems like an extraordinary exercise for meditation and an excellent treatment that makes you satisfied, relaxed, and comfortable entirely. The extent that luxurious cinema has is an endlessly streaming since it released to audiences, and where it inspired people who watch it a countless of ideas and feelings that can makes them feel good or bad, where it makes them under the influence that the films have given to them, and transformed those negative emotions that people were have before they watch it. There is another thing as well that always amazing me when I watch a film, is how cinema can reach out to our hearts without a challenging ways, which makes us remember the film constantly without we feel, and it becomes a beautifully superb road to go to in our lifetime.
Masaki Kobayashi‘s The Human Condition: No Greater Love (1959) is a tremendously essential cinematic accomplishment in worldwide cinema that depicts the human condition in a various situations that have a tragically enthralling moments from start to finish, where it does not stop streaming of throwing the realistic feelings, heartbreaking realism, wistfully profound meanings on the humanity, the existence of human on this earth, and the brutality subject that described by the violence and exploitation of the characters to each other in the hard things that belongs to the reality and the human itself. The story/concept revolves a plenty of themes and details that slowly built in a way that conceptualizing the purpose of the film consistently, and which becomes an extended scope to look through; where the surface and limits of the story were solidly stylized in every sense, and that you can not deny while you watching this film. No Greater Love is a title that its depths are too-ahead-of-its-time textually, and was filmed by the characters' methods and the power of the screenplay truthtfully. The pace was astonishingly terrific from every single facet, which thematiclly and artistically was a potent supporter that makes them increasingly jaw-dropping of shocking realism, and an inventive things that you will be captivated by it. However, the film tells a story of a humanistic lessons that makes the film on the top of any user list on this site. It is a story of aches, true love, appreciation, and how you will be a good human being in the critical situations. The essence of the film unfolds a lot of a sensitive themes that can be a destruction to you, a bold themes that will select your destiny in your life, which means that you between two paths only; and this thing pointing into that you should to make a sacrifice in your life to have another thing, and that is depends on your luck with it at times. The characters here are massively made heartfelt performances that will makes your feelings moving effectively, where their power are invisible but you honestly can see it through their tears, actions, movements, and through their dialogues seamlessly. The characters' existence in their harsh moments and terrible times made the film turn to a naturally, realistically, fundamentally an uncompromised cinematic pure piece throughout cinema history. From the painful storytelling that focused on some diverse subjects matters breathtakingly, where the brutality, emotionality, sentamintality, sensitivity, and morality were represented through the violente characters, and passionately compassion scenes that were talked about true love, the purpose of our existence, the way that we dealing with people who around us, how we taking the responsibility in a pretty bad situations in our life, and how we decide a questionable, hard decisions that sometimes selecting our destiny, or makes us choosing the tough choices that takes us on a singular critical path at times.
Nevertheless, The Human Condition: No Greater Love is a gorgeously solid contemplative epic that filmed 3-hours-and-28-mins about those passions and emotions inside us that sometimes were decides instead of our desires, about those sympathies and feelings that we take towards people who we love, whoe we hate, and who we respect in our life. The film premise and the concept were told individually, where the message was utilized the human condition from all perspectives that does not depends on something to stand out, or to be completely understandable. From the poignant cinematography to the touching direction that were taking us into an extremely poetic wide glimpses about humanism, existentialism, realism, and another major subjects that were powerfully portrayed and narrated cinematiclly. The film description about humanity has introduced to the viewer a substantially genuine cinematic material that tackling a simple story with a profoundly thoughtful portraits on forgiveness, reflectiveness, and a basic intentions towards life and death, good and evil, sadness and happiness, and the difference between immorality and morality. The film also has one of the relentless scenes about grief on things that it is very close to us, and how our feelings will be when we being forced to do it. There are multiple things were structured rightfully, the approach of the story and characters are two of them which were quitely an important items to be very connected with, other than that you will struggle a bit to be fine with this largely magnificent cinematic masterwork. There is something undeniable as well: the film has blew my small mind away when those brutal scenes were established realistically in a way that anyone can understand it, whether a young person or an old one; I was severely moved and affected by the consequences of the characters' path, and the outcome of the story, as well as the result of the film in general, which put the messages and the purpose of this acclaimed cinematic piece together, and demonstrates a fantastically colossal conclusion that its size is enormous enough to makes you immensely fascinated by the extention of the coherently sprawling depths of a powerfully heartbreaking cinematic masterpiece that its place is easily among the greatest films ever made.
100/100.