Review: Since Fantoma Films first released Yasuzo Masumura’s Blind Beast, I was hooked on his films. The man is a genius. Whatever genre he works in he seems to get his point across in a way that is simply beautiful. Red Angel is no exception. Masumura transcends us into the front line hospitals of Japan battle against China in the late 30s. As with many of Masumura’s films, Red Angel deals with the pure love and passion and lengths one will go to reach that level of happiness. It also deals with the horrors of war and the ugliness of it all as Masumura takes us front and center. With parts equal parts Samuel Fuller and Seijun Suzuki, Masumura shows us what life was really like during this heartbreaking times of war and animalistic passion.

The acting is phenomenal in the film from frequent Masumura collaborator Ayako Wakao as Sakura Nishi the nurse sent to take the pain away from all the dying soldiers to Shinsuke Ashida as Dr. Okabe. Each and every participant seems destined to make all they can out of their roles from minor to major. Wakao has the most difficult role as a woman who can’t show her love for the man she loves more than life itself. Wakao was equally awe-inspiring in Masumura’s MANJI in which she starred alongside WOMEN OF THE DUNES actress Kyoko Kishida. Let’s not kid ourselves; truly great female roles were hard to come by during this era (and even today). Women were often left to play second fiddle the more prominent male lead. But that was not the case with this, or most Masumura films for that matter. The delicate performance of Shinsuke Ashida, as the one person Sakura Nishi is in love with but can’t express it, is pitch perfect but also takes the backseat to Wakao’s Nishi. I really think actresses like Ayako Wakao and Kyoko Kishida really paved the way for strong female performances from there on out continuing a decade later with the great 70’s icon Meiko Kaji.

For a war film made in the 60s, Masumura pull no punches when it comes to showing the reality of war. Most of these soldiers never had a chance and often times often time surgery meant amputation. If a leg were injured, they would just simply cut it off. Anyway they could try to safe a life, they would. Masumura never pulls the camera away. He is always front and center in the action and the amputations seems are quite powerful. The sounds of bones being chiseled away is constantly heard throughout the film and the viewer as no choice but to continue watching. This is where the beauty of the film lies. Masumura doesn’t want to glorify any part of the war. He wants to show the audience what those involved when through and he does this is some of the most honest scenes. For a film of it’s time RED ANGEL does let up and I believe that what makes it all the more powerful. The last 10 minutes of the war torn battlefield and its one soul survivor is so affectively filmed that it is both more poignant and heart wrenching than most films of today standards could ever express so flawlessly.

Sexual Desire seems to be one of many common threads, which flows through a handful of his films, and RED ANGEL is no exception. Actually the topic of passion and the extent in which we go to get what we want seems to be one of the main focuses of the film. After all nurse Sakura Nishi begins to satisfy the wounded and dying soldiers in any way possible so that they can die respectfully. In such an emotionally moving supporting role, Yusuke Kawazu plays solider Orihara who after losing both arms begs Nurse Nishi to make love to him only to shortly thereafter commit suicide. Revealed later in suicide note, Orihara thanks Nishi for giving him what he really wanted before dying, one more breathe of happiness. In a time when sexual desire and our pursuit of happiness were represented so poorly through film, Masumura finds ways to not only deal with the sensitive subject matter so tastefully but also so beautifully. He would touch on the same topic 3 years later with his most famous film, BLIND BEAST, and pull it off once again.

As mention above RED ANGEL, or most of Masumura’s films for that matter, seems like the lovechild of Sam Fuller and Seijun Suzuki and continues to push the boundaries until the heartbreaking final scene. This film was listed almost two years ago on Fantoma’s release schedule along with another Masumura title, BLACK TEST CAR, which has yet to be announced. Here’s to hoping that more, including the above mentioned, sees the light of day in the not so distant future. I know when the day comes; the true fans of cinema will not be disappointed.