Stars: Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida

Director: Yasuzo Masumura

Summary: In 1939 a young Japanese military nurse is sent to the front line during the Sino-Japanese war. Posted to a demoralised unit, she falls for an impotent, morphine-addicted surgeon. The pair seek solace in each other amid the brutality and carnage of the war.

In influential Japanese director Yasuzo Masumura’s RED ANGEL--set during the Sino-Japanese war--young Japanese military nurse Sakura Nishi (Ayako Wakao) is sent to the front line as a result of registering a complaint after she was assaulted by her patients. Sakura is posted to a demoralised unit where she assists the surgeon Dr Okabe (Shinsuke Ashida) in treating the wounded Japanese soldiers and amputating the limbs of a number of them. Sakura begins to fall in love with Dr Okabe who has become impotent due to his morphine addiction--a drug he uses in order in order to block out the pain of the carnage surrounding him. War veteran Masumura’s 1966 film is a stark and hard-hitting affair and his films undoubtedly had an impact on the Japanese New Wave and more extreme Japanese directors, such as Takashi Miike. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Arima Yorichika and shows the horrors of war in a bleak and graphic manner--something rarely seen in 1960s cinema--and the film still carries a forceful impact.

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Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	Japanese
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Theatrical Trailer,, Photo Gallery,, Director Biography
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1966
Release Date:	July 24, 2006
Runtime:	91 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	Y U M E 005
Keywords:	Angel, Red, General, Drama
Genre:	Thriller