“Red Sun”
Movie Review
Red
Sun is a 1971 Franco-Italian international co-production spaghetti western
directed by Terence Young and starring Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain
Delon, Ursula Andres, and Capuchin. Filmed in Spain by director Terence Young
from a story by Laird Koenig, screenplay by Denny Bart Petitclerc, William
Roberts, and Lawrence Roman.
Link
Stuart and Couche are the ruthless leaders of a gang of robbers who rob a train
payload of $400,000. On board the train is a Japanese ambassador to Washington,
carrying with him a ceremonial Tachi as a gift to the president. Gauche steals the
golden sword and shoots one of the ambassador's two samurai guards. At the same
time, on Gauche's orders, other members of the gang threw dynamite into the
train carriage in which he was sitting, killing him. Before the group leaves,
Kuroda, the remaining samurai guard, tells Gauche that he wants to find him and
kill him, but Gauche refuses the threat.
The
Japanese ambassador instructs Link, unharmed but unarmed in the attempt to kill
him, to help Kuroda find Gauche. Kuroda is given a week to kill Gauche and
retrieve the sword. If he fails, Kuroda and the ambassador will have to hara-kiri
for losing their honor by allowing him to steal the sword and avenge the
samurai's death. Link reluctantly agrees, but he realizes that Kuroda will kill
Gauche right away, which Link doesn't want because he knows Gauche will hide
the loot. As they set off after the group, Link makes several attempts to get
rid of Kuroda, only to be thwarted by the irresistible samurai.
Sure
enough, Gauche and the four gang members get robbed, and then Gauche kills them
so he knows where the hiding place is. Gauche pays the others and they go on
their way, the rest of the gang staying with him. While tracking down Gauche’s
group, Kuroda reveals to Link that his samurai values are fading and that his
countrymen no longer respect the old customs. Convinced that the country is
changing forever and that the spirit of the samurai will soon disappear, Kuroda
explains that the only way to honor his ancestors and his own way of life is to
bring back the ceremonial sword. The two approach a farm, which has been taken
over by some gang members, who attack and kill them, then steal their horses.
Now armed with guns taken from the gang, Link can no longer do Kuroda's
bidding. He drifts away from Kuroda but returns to him with a change of heart
and respect for the strict Bushido code by which Kuroda lives. However, Link
warns Kuroda that if he tries to kill Gauche before he learns where the loot is
hidden, he will kill him.
After
the chase, Link decides the best way to get to Gauche is through his girlfriend
Christina. The two go to the brothel where she works in San Lucas, and Link
locks her in her room. The next day, four of Gauche's men arrive at the brothel
to fetch Christina. Link and Kuroda kill three of them and return the fourth to
Gauche, who kidnaps Christina and gives Gauche in exchange for the stolen sword
and loot from the train robbery on Link's share. The exchange is about to take
place at an abandoned mission a day's ride away.
On
the way to the exchange, Link and Kuroda have a non-violent confrontation,
which prompts Kuroda to agree not to kill Gauche. While trying to escape from
the two, Christina crosses the path of some Comanches and kills a warrior who
attacks her. In retaliation, the leader tied her up and tied a wet girdle
around her neck, which slowly suffocated her as the sun dried the bark. Link
and Kuroda attack the Comanches, killing many and driving off the rest.
While
on the mission, Link and Kuroda are ambushed by Gauche and his men. Gauche, who
has a sword with him, ignores Christina's pleas and tells one of his men to
shoot Link. Just then, the Comanches attack, forcing the men of former allies
Kuroda, Christina, and Gauche to fight on the same side. The defenders
successfully repel the attacks, first in the mission and later in the burnt
sugarcane fields. Confronted with the final attack, the Comanches are either
dead or flee, leaving only Link, Kuroda, Christina, and Gauche alive.
Couche
soon faces off against Link, who is out of bullets. Kuroda comes after Gauche
and prepares to kill him, but he hesitates because of his promise to Link. Gauche
turns around and shoots Kuroda dead. Link takes the opportunity to grab the gun
off the ground. Gauche hopes that Link will leave him alive to find out where
the loot is hidden, but Link, deciding that the honor of a dying samurai is
more important to him than money, kills him and promises to return Tachi to the
dying Kuroda. After Kuroda's death, Link refuses Cristina's offer to join him
and then hangs his sword in front of the train station where the Japanese
ambassador arriving, thus eluding capture and fulfilling his promise.
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