by “Traumatic anime” was produced overseas, not just in Japan.
Some animated films, such as live-action films, are based on historical facts or events. In particular, works that dared to depict the harsh realities of foreign countries in animation have shocked many audiences.
The 3D animation “True North” depicts a North Korean concentration camp. True North” (directed, written, produced, and edited by Shimizu Han Eiji) is a Japanese-Indonesian co-production animated film released in 2021. This work is the directorial debut of Korean-Japanese Shimizu Han Eiji and depicts the mysterious North Korean concentration camps.
The story begins when the “Pak family,” who immigrated from Japan to Pyongyang, North Korea, is one day deported to a “political prisoner concentration camp” after the father disappears. Murder and violence are commonplace in the concentration camps, and the Park family is forced to work in poor conditions without knowing why they were there.
They go on to have a series of hellish experiences. This film was produced over nearly ten years, interviewing defectors and former camp guards, and realistically depicts the camps’ unknown inner workings.
The North Korean side seems to deny the existence of “concentration camps.” Still, considering the circumstances leading up to the production of this film and the testimonies, it seems credible. Director Shimizu explained the reason for making it into an animation at a press conference before the release, saying, “We had the option of making it into a live-action film or a documentary, but the content is so terrible that a live-action film would have turned it into a horror film.” This film is drawn in polygon-like 3D animation. There are few direct depictions, but the polygon animation feels more vivid than 2D animation.
After the film was released, many online reviewers expressed their shock, saying, “The scene where prison guards publicly execute prisoners for unreasonable reasons was painful to watch” and “The scene where prisoners betray each other by informing on the guards for food for themselves and their families was painful to watch, as it showed the dirty side of humanity.”
Comments praising the significance of the film’s creation, such as, “The truth remains unknown, but I think the fact that this film was sent out to the world is valuable enough.” Waltz with Bashir, a film about civil war Waltz with Bashir (directed and written by Ari Folman), released in Japan in 2009, is a feature-length documentary animation produced by Israel. Based on the director’s own experiences as a soldier in the Israeli army, the film depicts the tragedy that occurred during the 1982 Lebanon War.
One day, the protagonist, Ari Folman, an infantryman in the Israeli Defense Forces, is informed by a former comrade that he is plagued by nightmares of being attacked by 26 ferocious wild dogs. Then, Folman realizes he has no memory of his time in the military. Later, as Folman visits his comrades, he begins to remember memories he had unconsciously suppressed. The reason he lost his memory was the Sabra-Shatila massacre of Palestinian refugees in September 1982. This film’s unique animation and dark colors further excite the grief of war.
Many scenes make you want to look away, such as piles of messy corpses and shooting scenes with blood splattering everywhere. Regarding this film, in which the protagonist finally regains his memory of the horrific incident, the internet has been talking about it for many years as a shocking animated film, with comments such as “The last scene is too gruesome to watch,” “The fact that this content is based on real experiences shows the horror of war,” and “It’s the hardest of all the scenes that switch from animation to live action.” This film received high praise, including winning the 66th Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
