Doburoku no Tatsu (1962)

Tatsu, an illiterate laborer, works on a back-breaking road-building project deep in the Hokkaido forests. The road crew is a hard-drinking bunch who find humor in brutality. Tatsu seems to be one of them, but is at heart a kind man. He falls in love with Shino, a girl working in the camp, but even after she rejects him, he fights to protect her from the advances of the vicious foreman. Forced to run from camp to escape reprisals, Tatsu learns of an attack on his former friends planned by a rival crew. Tatsu must decide between self-preservation and loyalty.