Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen is the story of a young boy called Gen and his family and how they struggle in World War II, The beginning of the film focuses on the family's struggle to afford food and ration cards and Gen's pregnant mother, Kimie falls ill due to malnutrition. Gen and his younger brother, Shinji try and find food for their mother and their unborn younger sibling. The family is made up of Gen, Shinji, Daikichi, their father, Kimie their mother and Eiko their older sister. We can see through the film that they are a loving family.  

Throughout the film there are constant air raids from the war and the town is constantly wondering why they have been targeted yet as they are one of the main cities in Japan, they are soon targeted with an atomic bomb, this bomb ends up killing Daikichi, Eiko and Shinji leaving Kimie and Gen on their own, the night of the atomic bomb Kimie goes in labour and Gen has to deliver the baby, Kimie has a baby girl and Gen names her Tomoko which means 'friend' as he hopes Tomoko will always have lots of friends. Gen takes it upon himself to take his father's place and he goes and searches for food and fresh vegetables for his mother and baby sister.

On his search he comes across a soldier who is going bald and vomiting blood, he takes him to first aid and he is left for dead by the doctors after having an incurable disease caused by the atomic bomb. Soon after Gen then begins to lose his hair. After bringing home food for his mother and Tomoko they that catch a young boy Ryuta, who is trying to steal rice from them and Gen is shocked at how much Ryuta resembles his younger brother Shinji and him and his mother feed him and decide to keep him with them.

The two boys then go on a search for milk for Tomoko, they come across a man who offers them a job looking after his sick brother for 10 yen a day, the brother is rude and arrogant but the boys choose to stay and help him as they need money to buy milk for Tomoko, none of the others who have worked with this man have lasted and the man ends up paying them 100yen, they go to the black market and spend the full 100yen on milk for Tomoko, they go back to find that it is too late and Tomoko has already died due to malnutrition. The film ends with the crops growing and Gen's hair then begins to grow back.