“Red Sun” Movie Review

 

“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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