It's a Japanese wartime film, produced under their national film policy. Is it propaganda? I suppose so, technically, but it's mild and still perfectly watchable today. Also, unfortunately, it was released on 5 August 1945, the day before Hiroshima got nuked. Japan surrendered less than a month later and it wasn't re-released under the Americans.

THE CAST: pretty amazing. 1. Setsuko Hara has been called the greatest ever Japanese actress and Satoshi Kon's film Millennium Actress is partly based on her life. 2. Susumu Fujita was then one of Japanese's biggest movie stars. 3. Hideko Takamine would be Japan's top star in the 1950s. 4. Takashi Shimura appeared in more Akira Kurosawa films than any other actor.

THE FILM ITSELF: it's about female radio operators and it's a bit dull. Most of the running time is just people having stiff-upper-lip conversations at an airbase. Occasionally, though, this comes alive with:

(a) the film's anti-sexist agenda, which is surprising and welcome given the film's era and purpose. Even government propaganda can say good things, though. The film wants us to respect women's contribution to the war effort. I approve. Occasionally, that's even funny, e.g. Shimura taken aback by the next step in gender equality even after he'd corrected Fujita's old-fashioned sexism earlier in the film. Takamine ends up flying under enemy fire as a wireless operator. Earlier, she'd been looked down on.

"I never thought that a young woman could do such a great job as a radio operator!"

"That just shows that you lack imagination. Nowadays, women can become excellent radio operators."

(b) Hara's scenes with Takamine. They've got issues to talk out. Hara had been engaged to Takamine's brother before he died. Meanwhile, a handsome man is reluctant to talk to the girl who fancies him.

(c) the finale, with American planes and flying through fog. Our heroes have to fly north no matter what. I wouldn't go so far as to call this exciting, but it's a break from the conversations.

I'd have liked more clarity about the role of "radio operator". We can see that it's important and that planes need to land safely, but it's unclear whether or not it needs a brain. Is it basically the Sigourney Weaver role from Galaxy Quest, or is it difficult? (The radio operators in the plane appear to be using some Japanese equivalent of Morse code. Wabun code, perhaps. The radio operators on the ground, though, just seem to be talking into microphones, which doesn't look demanding.) We're told that training is required and so I presume it must have been difficult, but I'd have liked confirmation of this.

This film is surprisingly classy. Its characterisation is lighter and more human than I'd expected. Its propaganda content is brief, sympathetic and even witty. It's also, though, often staid, talky and uneventful.