Jotaro Senba Movies
- 1966
Exploring many of the same themes of Robert Altman's MASH (1970), (albeit with completely distinct overtones), Akai Tenshi is a brutal portrayal of individuals clinging to their humanity while enduring the horrors of war. Set in 1939, the film concerns Sakura Nishi (Ayako Wakao), a fresh young nurse who works at a field hospital during Japan's ill-conceived advance into China. In spite of the waves of broken men arriving at the clinic and the primitive conditions at their disposal (amputation is the only treatment available), Nishi tries to heal both the physical and emotional wounds of those she encounters but runs into a series of harrowing difficulties as she tries to compete with the insanity of war. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, (more)
Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), the blind swordsman, encounters an elderly man who claims to be his long-lost father. The nomadic warrior, who has never had any personal ties to anyone as an adult, believes that he may finally have found a bond with his past. Only later does he discover that the man is an imposter. In contrast to most of the movies in this long-running series, Adventures of a Blind Man, by the very nature of its plot, offers a look into the background of the blind swordsman. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shintaro Katsu, Mikijiro Hira, (more)
