Hiroo Onoda, born on 19 March 1922, was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and became famous for being a Japanese holdout who did not surrender when the war ended in 1945. In fact, Onoda spent 29 years after the end of the war hiding in the Philippines, believing World War II had never ended until his former commander traveled from Japan to formally relieve him from duty.
Onoda’s mission was to destroy the Lubang airfield and a pier by the harbors, as well as any enemy planes or crews who attempted to land. Yet, within only weeks of his arrival, a US attack took control and he and his fellow troops were forced to retreat into the jungle. Leaflets that were dropped to inform stragglers of Japan’s surrender on 15 August 1945, but unlike most of his comrades, Onoda saw the leaflets as fakes used to draw out the Japanese from hiding.
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Onoda was stuck, hidden in the jungle, stubborn not to surrender, for nearly 30 years surrounded by ants and snakes, living off a diet of banana skins, coconuts, and stolen rice — all the time being convinced that the enemy was out there attempting to starve him out. The Japanese government even declared him dead in 1959, but little did they know that he was actually alive and still so committed to his secret mission, where the was instructed to hold the island until the army’s return, that he was actually convinced the war had never ended.
When he finally returned to Japan in 1974, Onoda received a hero’s welcome and was the last soldier to return home from the war. During his life beyond the war, he also released an autobiography, No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, which details his experience as a guerrilla fighter in a war that had long ago ended.
Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
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Inspired by Onoda’s incredible story, the adventure film Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (directed by Arthur Harari) was released in 2021. Not only is it inspired by Onoda’s experience, but is also heavily inspired by Cendron and Gérard Cehnu’s 1974 biography Onoda, seul en guerre dans la jungle, and Harari’s conversations with Onoda himself. Yet, this gripping tale of stubborn patriotism is not based on Onoda’s own memories and is considered a fiction film inspired by history, rather than biographical.
10,000 Nights in the Jungle recreates the intense circumstances with excellent performances and incredible cinematography. Onoda’s story is told in such a way that if forces viewers to dive into Onoda’s survivalist mindset and put themselves in his shoes. Not only is it a brilliant World War II movie that gives us an educational insight into the difficult 29 years that he suffered, but also to explore how we would feel to be stranded in the jungle, which is a fascinating mindset to be in. It’s such a bizarre and incredible story, the kind that’s stranger than fiction, and the film does a great job of exploring the humanity at the heart of it.
Beyond being a character study, this is also just an exciting and appealing film. The movie is definitely full of suspense, especially for viewers who are not familiar with the history behind it and have not heard of Onoda’s story prior to viewing. This means that they do not know whether Onoda survives, surrenders, or dies out in that terrifying jungle. So, take away the history, and we have a suspenseful, action-packed adventure that highlights the brutality and corruption of war, a soldier’s bravery and the beauty and dangers of nature.
Werner Herzog and The Twilight World
Not only did Onoda’s infamous story inspire cinema, but also classic literature. Werner Herzog, a brilliant director, producer, and screenwriter who is known for more than 60 features and documentary films, an author of more than 12 books, and director of more than a dozen operas, also threw himself head first into the story of the lost soldier. Herzog released a semi-fictional book titled The Twilight World, which may not be his first book, nor his last, but is his first attempt at a novel.
So, what made the great director and documentarian Werner Herzog write a book about Onoda, and not direct another film? What can a book capture within this story that a camera cannot? While most details are factually correct, some are not. What Herzog felt is more important is the psychology and self-reflection, the very essence of how Onoda’s mind worked — that is what only words are able to truly capture.
Herzog decides to delve deeper into Onoda’s feelings in his novel adaptation — into his fear and his survival, rather than focusing on the events of the war and Onoda’s experience as a whole, much like 10,000 Nights in the Jungle. This is interesting because it gives the readers a completely new insight into the events and allows us to truly feel what Onoda felt, in a more intimate and personal manner. For example, Herzog writes:
Those who read The Twilight World would not only learn about the war and the history of this incredible incident, but more of ingenious survival, pure fear and courage. Both in cinema and literature, the story of Hiroo Onoda that went down in history is portrayed incredibly and is a tale of survival like no other, conveyed through talented performances, beautiful cinematography, and gentle words.
