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.
