Red Beard

"Red Beard" is a powerful and poignant drama that follows the journey of a young doctor, Noboru Yasumoto, as he learns the true meaning of medicine and compassion under the guidance of a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor, Dr. Kyojō Niide, also known as "Red Beard." Set in 19th-century Japan, the film takes us through the struggles of the clinic's patients, including a dying man with a secret misery, a well-loved man with a tragic connection to his wife's corpse, and a young girl saved from a brothel. As Yasumoto learns to humble himself and open his eyes to the world around him, he begins to understand the magnitude of cruelty and suffering, and learns to regret his vanity and selfishness. Ultimately, Yasumoto chooses to turn down a comfortable and prestigious position in society to continue serving the poor alongside Dr. Niide, in a film that is both a tribute to Kurosawa's episodic storytelling style and an exploration of the human condition.

You can stream Red Beard on: HBO Max The Criterion Channel Amazon Prime ⎥ HBO Max

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as Red Beard include Kes, Persona, The Conformist, A Day at the Beach, I Walk the Line, Through a Glass Darkly.

Red Beard was released in theaters on January 19, 1966.