攻击那面旗

The scene after Toni received the operation (51:46) depicted the affectionate triangular relationship between the Japanese soldier, the mother, and the boy. It was fascinating to see how the father figure was absent from the film, like many other Japanese films. The scene was composed of the Filipino mother whose son went to the war, fighting the Japanese army, the Filipino boy who just received a blood transfusion from the Japanese soldier, and the Japanese soldier who filled in the absence in this family. He is like the father, the support to the family, but not paternalistic or authoritarian. He is also like a good son to the mother, relieving her pain by telling her that all soldiers “have sacred duties which are above everything else,” emphasizing that Japanese and Filipinos are all humans and families, so she doesn’t have to feel guilty about her son’s position. The power dynamic here is that the Filipino family is receiving help from the Japanese soldier, and it entails how the Japanese saw themselves being the big brother, the wiser and more mature figure to the new colonies.

Film crews were once in the danger of being charged as war criminals because they used American prisoners. But it is said that later prisoners reported that the film crews were the only ones who treated them well so the charges were dropped.