El ángel rojo

Akai Tenshi, the movie starring Ayako Wakao where she impersonates a comfort woman...errrr, a nurse who helps japanese soldiers by making sex with them for no real discernible reason and then feels bad for them dying or killing themselves again for no real reason. Oh, did I mention the fact that she magically falls in love with a surgeon with whom she doesn't show any chemistry whatsoever? This movie feels more like an exploitation flick where somebody imposed to the director to not show the actual sex scenes, resulting in something extremely bizzarre at the end of the day. Having enjoyed a lot of the works of this director and especially the feminist-leaning A Wife Confesses made five years prior to this thing, I am shocked and infuriated that he produced this crap. Well shot crap, but crap nonetheless. I might try to rewatch it in the future, but it's not on the priority list.

A bleak and exceptionally well-made anti-war movie, Red Angel is surprisingly bold for a movie that's as old as it is. It goes to some fairly extreme places when it comes to the violence, the intensity of some of its sexual themes, and its depiction of drug addiction. It's definitely not a good time, but much of the shocking stuff here is in service of a well-executed statement on the horrors, tragedies, and inherent madness of war.

There are some elements here that feel a little questionable, and I can see some of the decisions the main character makes (especially in the first half) turning some people off, but I still think the strengths of Red Angel far outweight the weaknesses or shortcomings. It wasn't ideal Friday night viewing, but it is a film I am glad I saw (though will probably never see again, owing to how persistently traumatic it was).

Coming from the point of view of the country at risk of losing the war and tinged with a sense of fatalism, this is the kind of story which could've been wall to wall misery porn if the wrong director were put in charge of it. Fortunately, its emotional register turned out to be far more oblique than I expected it would. The portrayals of the characters finding solace from their desperate situations by getting as much out of their relationships with each other as possible resonated really well with me. Though you might not be able to control your fate, the least you can do is attempt to alleviate your fears of meeting it. This aspect isn't glossed over, nor does it overshadow the depressing parts of the film. The film instead does a good job at balancing hope and despair. Even the Stockholm syndrome bits don't feel problematic since the desperation of the characters are made as clear as day.

This film begins in 1939 with a young nurse by the name of "Nishi Sakura" (Ayako Wakao) being sent from her home in Tokyo to a mobile Army hospital in China to care for Japanese soldiers who have been seriously wounded in the war over there. Although she is quite eager to demonstrate her medical skills, she is immediately horrified at the condition of the hospital which is short on medical equipment and supplies needed for all of the dying and wounded soldiers. To suggest that it is an unpleasant environment would be an understatement-especially considering that within the first week of her reporting for duty she is forcibly raped by a soldier named "Private Sakamoto" (Jotaro Senba). Yet as traumatic as this event is for her, she still does everything she can to save his life when he returns from the front lines with injuries even worse than before. And her feelings for other wounded soldiers continues even though she is warned repeatedly not to get emotionally involved. However, it isn't until she falls in love with one of the doctors that things take a turn for the worse. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was one of those films that was well-made but, because of the subject matter, was rather difficult to actually enjoy. To its credit, unlike so many other war movies which glorifies the battlefield action, this one showcases the harsh realities of it to great effect. Likewise, having an absolutely gorgeous actress like Ayako Wakao certainly didn't hurt either. Be that as it may, in spite of some rather disturbing scenes, I still consider this to be a very good anti-war film, and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

A very underrated masterful piece of art. This is my kind of film. It analyses, dissect, and expose the human psyche. There is no good and bad in the film, you make up your mind about that. There is no unblemished hero character in the film; only ordinary people doing extraordinary actions in unique circumstances. The film illustrates the beauty of human heart. Even though the film is Japanese, it doesn't do what the traditional Hollywood films do in war films involving America; the film, in respect of the war issue is neutral. It uses the war as a background to the main concepts addressed by the film. However, the war aspect is not entirely neglected, rather it is dealt with from a neutral perspectives.