Synopsis
When the plague threatens a small town in Manchuria, a young doctor finds himself struggling to save the lives of his townspeople.
1960 ‘砂漠を渡る太陽’ Directed by Kiyoshi Saeki
When the plague threatens a small town in Manchuria, a young doctor finds himself struggling to save the lives of his townspeople.
Koji Tsuruta Yoshiko Sakuma Naoko Kubo Sō Yamamura Yūnosuke Itō Ken Takakura Isao Yamagata Fumitake Ōmura Harumi Sone Masumi Okada Shoji Nakayama Nakajirō Tomita Yoshi Katō Takashi Kanda Tokue Hanazawa Yasushi Nagata Kyū Sazanka Takeshi Hasebe Kōji Sekiyama Sachi Shindô Akikane Sawa Takumi Kitagawa Fusatarō Ishijima Ken Sudo Keiko Itō Tatsuya Kitayama
Koji Tsuruta plays a Japanese doctor living in a small Manchurian town, who does everything he can to protect the lives of those around him.
Let’s just get this out of the way: this is an old Toei film, set in China, with mostly Japanese actors playing Chinese (and Russian!) characters. A product of its time. That’s fine.
For what it is though, it has a lot of sympathy for characters of all races, even coming down harshest on the Japanese military. A large part of the plot revolves around needing to quarantine the town after a disease breaks out, and the locals fighting against it, afraid that it will ravage their economy. Felt weirdly relevant! Even threw in an…