Synopsis
The Triumphant General Rouge is a sequel to The Glorious Team Batista (2008), a medical mystery-thriller presented at last year’s PiFan. But it offers much more. Based on a third installment of the trilogy written by KAIDO Takeru, the story spins around the same characters appearing in its predecessor, though with more sophisticated and amazing combination of medical drama and humanism. (This is attributed to the fine work of the original hailed as the best in the series, as well as to the chemistry between casts and staff.) Tipped that the renowned ER specialist HAYAMI (SAKAI Masato) is involved in illegal dealings with a pharmaceutical company, TAGUCHI (TAKEUCHI Yuko) launches an investigation with SHIRATORI (ABE Hiroshi). HAYAMI confesses his wrongdoing in front of the hospital committee, but his true intention is somewhere else. Then a disaster strikes, bringing in tons of patients to the hospital and putting HAYAMI in charge. Dynamics between the three main characters are amazing, exemplifying good chemistry, charisma and performance. NAKAMURA Yoshihiro, a rising star in the current Japanese film industry, and MASE Yasuhiro, winner of the Academy Award in best foreign film, together prove their craft for the second time with this successful KAIDO original adaptation. (KWON Yong Min)