Akai tenshi (1966)

Director:

Yasuzo Masumura

Writers:

Yoriyoshi Arima (novel)
Ryozo Kasahara (writer)

Release Date:

1 July 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Amputation | Sino Japanese War | Impotence | Sacrifice

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ayako Wakao	...	Nurse Sakura Nishi
Shinsuke Ashida	...	Dr. Okabe
Yûsuke Kawazu	...	Pvt. Orihara
Ranko Akagi	...	Head Nurse Iwashima
Jotaro Senba	...	Private Sakamoto
Daihachi Kita	...	Private Nogami
Jun Osanai	...	Special Duty Sergeant Major
Daigo Inoue	...	Advance Guard Company's Fifth Chief
Takashi Nakamura	...	Head of infantry
Kenichi Tani	...	Wounded soldier
Kisao Tobita	...	Patient
Naomasa Kawashima	...	Medic
Ayako Ikegami	...	Nurse Tsurusaki
Kyousuke Shiho	...	Chinese Boy
Shin Minatsu	...	Soldier

Also Known As:

Red Angel (USA)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Daiei Studios

Next To Superb

This is the story of Nurse Sakura Nishi, who is a young army nurse sent to field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. There she sees the atrocities of war, sometimes by her own people. She has a conscience (after being raped, she reports it and that soldier Sakamoto goes back to the front. Not much later, he is wounded and she tries to save his life. It is a great scene). There are amputations at will in these makeshift hospitals at the request of Dr. Okabe, whom Nurse Nishi falls in love with. That is perfectly believable, this is a time of war. Ayako Wakao, who is a great actress, plays Nurse Nishi perfectly. Her expressions at seeing all this brutality, her reactions to it are all true to life. You can only wonder what it was like to be there, she shows you. Not for the faint of heart of course, this film is grim but very gripping. Shot in glorious black and white, it depicts the horrors of war with a little light (Nurse Nishi) for all who have experienced it. Brutal but essential.