or ''Ode to Joy'' is a

Japanese film The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

released in 2006 and based on the true story of the

Bandō prisoner-of-war camp The was a prisoner-of-war camp during World War I in the western suburbs of what is now Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. From April 1917 until January 1920, just under a thousand of the 3,900 soldiers of the Impe ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It depicts the friendship of the German POWs with the director of the camp and local residents at the stage of

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

in Japan. The film, which explores the cultural interactions between the prisoners and the Japanese, starred Swiss actor

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

and

Ken Matsudaira is a Japanese actor and musician from Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His real name is . Career In 1974, he joined Shintaro Katsu's production company and made his debut with the television series Zatoichi as a guest. For a quarter of a century, he ...

. It was directed by

Masanobu Deme was a Japanese film director. Career Born in Shiga Prefecture, Deme graduated from Waseda University before joining the Tōhō studio in 1957. After serving as an assistant director under such directors as Akira Kurosawa, Shūe Matsubayashi, ...

. ''Baruto no Gakuen'' is also called "''The Bearded Orchestra''". This title was derived from the Bandō camp's commandant, Toyohisa Matsue, who was noted for his "imposing"

Wilhelmine The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm' ...

beard.

References

External links

Internet Archive retrieval of the official web site as it was on the 12th of February 2006

''Ode an die Freude''
* 2006 films World War I prisoner of war films Toei Company films 2000s Japanese films {{WWI-film-stub

See also

References

External links