Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hiroo Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line: no suicide, stay alive whatever happens, the mission is more important than anything else. Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, his role will be to wage a guerilla war until the return of the Japanese troops. The Empire will surrender soon after, Onoda 10.000 days later.
The Opening Film of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Festival, Onoda is a gripping and quietly forceful film about the human cost of misguided patriotism.
Filmography: Dark Inclusion (2016).
An Online Conversation with the director