User Reviews

Chuan Lu, the talented director of 'City of Life and Death', was faced with a quandary in attempting to recount the "Rape of Nanking", perhaps the single greatest series of atrocities committed by the Japanese occupation force during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Just as the Jewish people always say "never forget" when it comes to remembering the Holocaust, the Chinese people also feel compelled to "never forget" and recall their own Holocaust. But Mr. Lu can't ignore the fact that the Japanese people of 1937 are not the same people of today, and his compulsion to reconcile the past and the present was perhaps his greatest challenge in writing the screenplay.

Ironically, Lu ended up receiving death threats, not from the Japanese but from some Chinese people who felt that he did not extract a sufficient enough "pound of flesh" as compensation for those who suffered during the Occupation. I can recall my own grandparents, who had relatives that were killed in the Holocaust, speak ever so harshly of the Germans and wanted nothing to do with any of them—even those born after the War. Because it was an emotional issue, they ignored the Biblical admonition found in Ezekiel 18:20: "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity". The same can be said for many Chinese people who are unable to forgive the Japanese, even though rationally it makes no sense that those born after the war are blamed for their parents or grandparents' crimes. While Director Lu's reconciliation strategy is a noble one, I'm not completely convinced the way he went about expressing his attitude of 'forgiveness' toward the Japanese, enhanced the story, strengthening its verisimilitude.

Where the film is successful, is in the multitude of indelible images that re-create the horror show that was 1937 Nanking. The images from the film's opening sequence are shattering as they suggest an escalating atmosphere of terror that affected both the Chinese civilian and military population . One image that really sticks in my mind are the Chinese soldiers trying to escape the walled city and are unsuccessfully held back by their commanders. For those soldiers who stayed behind, they're shown to be courageous as they fight back against an overwhelmingly superior force. When they are finally defeated and surrender, the brutal Japanese soldiers take no prisoners. Some are herded into a warehouse with the doors locked shut and then the building is set on fire. Others are marched to the ocean and almost all are machine-gunned to death. Before they're murdered, the soldiers shout "Long live China" and again show their courage against their brutal occupiers.

Worse is what happens to the civilian population, especially the Chinese women. The Japanese force the leaders in the 'Safety Zone' (an area where refugees were supposedly protected by an agreement with international observers) to select 100 women to serve as prostitutes over a period of three weeks for the Japanese soldiers. The women are strapped to beds and are raped continuously through the day and night. Some fail to survive the ordeal and who can forget the scene where the soldiers carry out the nude corpses in a wheelbarrow? The strategies of the Japanese troops recall the sadism of their Nazi counterparts in the book & film, 'Sophies Choice'. You'll recall that Sophie was forced to select one of her children over another by the Nazis. In Nanking, the Japanese play their own little sadistic game—they lead families to believe that their loved ones will be let go—but then order the families to choose only one!

Of all the characters here, Mr. Tang is the most compelling. Tang was John Rabe's interpreter and assistant. When Rabe informs him that he's being recalled back to Germany, Tang makes a pact with the devil by informing the Japanese commanders that there might be Chinese soldiers hiding out in the safety zone; he does this to obtain a safe conduct pass in order to save his family. This admission creates the pretext for the occupiers to violate the agreement and invade the safety zone in order to commit more atrocities. Tang soon learns that the Japanese had no intention of honoring their side of the bargain and a Japanese soldier ends up throwing Tang's daughter out the window. In an act of redemption, Tang trades places with a soldier and remains behind as his wife escapes when she leaves Nanking with John Rabe.

Lu is unsuccessful when he attempts to throw a bone to the Japanese people of today by creating the unconvincing character of Kadokawa. According to Lu, he based Kadokawa's character on diaries he read of Japanese soldiers who were in Nanking during the massacres. Although there may have been a few soldiers who were repulsed by what they saw, the vast majority were more like Ida, Kadokawa's sadistic direct superior. Lu has trouble fleshing out his Kadokawa character—he shows his sensitive side to a Japanese 'comfort girl' who he claims that one day she'll be his wife. And later, Kadokawa shoots Miss Jiang as a mercy killing and then does himself in, as he is unable to cope with his guilt. But it's really not enough—Kadokawa is an anachronistic presence, designed to suggest that Japanese people weren't that bad, even back then. But in 1937, the mindset of the average Japanese person, was decidedly quite fanatical.

What Lu merely needed to do was put a disclaimer at the beginning of the film, noting that Japan transformed itself after the War and that the son should not pay for the iniquity of the father. Without Kadokawa (or perhaps having him as a greatly reduced presence), 'City' would have been much more true to life and there would have been no misunderstanding Lu was blaming the Japanese born after WW II, who bear no responsibility for the bloody scenes that happened so long ago.

I saw City of Life and Death while I was on a trip to Beijing, China. I have read Iris Chang's book and consider myself pretty familiar with the issue here. Obviously, this movie deals with a sensitive subject to both China and Japan. It was highly prompted by official CCTV and local newspapers in Beijing. I saw group of organized school children in my theater. Cornsidering the violent level of the movie, that surprised me a lot. China should consider a rating system similar to the west.

Back to the movie, the director was trying to make a epic using a small budget.That shows on the screen. The city comprised of only one street, one refugee camp and one church. Thus the setting is hardly qualified as a city.

The cinematography is the relatively bright spot in the movie, though hardly original.The director keeps pounding the audience using heavy images to the level I think is overdone. Several years ago,Jiang wen, a famous Chinese director, used similar visual style in his Cannes award-winning movie "The devils at the doorsteps" in a much effective way. I guess that's one reason Gilles Jacob ignored Nanjing Nanjing in this year's selection.

I have to point out the ritual dance by the Japanese army looks bizarre to me. I have never seen such things in Japan myself. I talked to my Japanese friends about it. They all laughed at such idea. I'm afraid missed details like this will hardly bridge the cultural gaps of the two nations.

If you are interested in the subject, Go get Jiang Wen 's "The devils at the doorsteps".

I'm a Chinese, I live in Nanjing.

Since i was in primary school, i've watched a lot of movies about the slaughter in Nanjing in 1937. We've been told and taught that 300,000 Chinese were killed in that slaughter, most of them were refugees. We've seen so many cruel photos, read so many articles, and heard the vivid reports of some survivals, which has made 1937's Nanjing a scar on the heart of every Chinese, especially the old ones who witnessed the slaughter, and their descendants.

I don't want to talk too much about the hates between Chinese and Japanese. Why I think "Nanjing! Nanjing! " the greatest movie about this tragedy, is that when LU Chuan shot this movie, he not only put away his hates, but even used an angle of a Japanese soldier, and dared to show the soldier's sympathy and humanity. This movie is logical, rational and together with deep emotion. It's not simply a movie for Chinese people to deepen their hates on Japanese, it's a movie for people all over the world to see, to know, to experience and to explore what Japanese have done to Nanjing in 1937. It's not another traditional movie about Nanjing Slaughter which describes Japanese soldiers as some mentally disordered ones, as demon; it shows that what happened in Nanjing in 1937 was simply a slaughter human done to human. Just because this movie was shot without hates without slants without sharp emotions, it has demonstrated the most powerful thing in the world: truth.

Nanjing, 1937, not matter Japanese admit its existence or not -- we may forgive, but never forget.

** The spoilers contained are not really spoilers, just a very brief mention of a couple of scenes**

As both a history nerd and a war movie freak, I was rather surprised to discover both a part of history, as well as this movie, and realize that I have hardly heard anything about the rape of Nanking, not by a word mentioned in any history lesson nor school literature in Sweden, where I live. I haven't seen many books about it either, during my years of devouring all literature about WWII and wars in conjunction with it. Sad, but it gave me the more reason to learn about the Sino-Japanese wars. This movie, I guess, was the introduction. The mixed reviews were rather confusing but I chose to go with the general trend, that it was see worthy. It was.

Seldom I have been so completely punched down by a Movie, and so utterly engrossed. Everything about this flick just sucks you in, and shakes you up entirely.

The black and white execution can, I guess, be a bit different, for watchers not used to old b&w movies, and definitely pretty unusual nowadays. But as I see it, this is one of the most important features of the movie, giving a raw, documentary, and very authentic feel to it. A very smart move by the director, giving the impression that what you are watching, is a piece of naked at-the-scene history. Still, the visual of the movie never loses it's insanely beautiful and powerful cinematography, with every frame In-Your-Face, smashing you like a fist of master photo.

The actor portraits are strong, convincing and complex, and lets you feel and wonder, rather than just being fed, evolving and revealing more and more as the story unravels. Some critique Nakaizumi Hideo's rendition of Kadokawa, but I don't get it. IMO he does an amazing job, and makes me believe, and feel, him. Often, western viewers, have a hard time getting used to Asian film, which, according to me, has to do with the fact that western and Asian storytelling and dramaturgy traditionally differ a little bit, which of course is completely natural. In many Asian flicks I think the acting and scripts can feel a bit melodramatic for a western viewer. (Not for me though, as a long time fan of Asian film.) In this movie, however, not a trace of that can be detected. The form of this epic piece of film history, is rather the mellow and minimalistic storytelling of old, classic war drama, like for an example, the excellent Finnish "The unknown soldier" (by Edvin Laine, 1955, about another rather unknown part of WWII - the Finnish wars).

The score and sound is also powerful, and adds to the air created, and a couple of scenes are epic, unforgettable, in their perfect harmony of visual, score and emotional strength (the scene with the climb to the top to oversee the field of corpses, and the scene with the ritualistic dance). Scenes that makes one shiver to the core - pure cinematic ecstasy.

The story is simple, yet so dense of emotion and complexity, in it's slow pacing leading to a inevitable climax. Never pointing fingers, never glorifying, never picking sides. Just showing the horror of war, naked and raw, never glutting in blood, misery and atrocity, nonetheless giving a deep impact on the Viewer.

This movie is NOT overrated by the people calling it a genuine masterpiece, because it IS. A powerful, haunting rendition of a horrific piece of history, with believable portrayals of HUMANS rather than sides. Humans affected by, and changed by, war. Beautifully told in it's awfulness.

In a word; fantastic.

There is a harrowing slow-motion sequence in City of Life and Death which encapsulates the experience of this movie for me-- the shot of a few women in an attic looking up as they realize something dreadful is happening outside, followed by a Japanese soldier getting up to inspect his "work" under the open sky. In this movie, the audience is simply (and cruelly) asked to "bear witness" to a Conquest-in-progress-- without (the comfort of) being able to understand or do anything about it. And the basic nature of Conquest is, now as always, "revelling on the ruins of your enemies' civilization" (to paraphrase the director).

So while the film is framed around the "Safety Zone" established (by John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin, etc.) for the first month or so during the conquest of Nanjing(Nanking) in World War II, the establishment & workings of the Safety Zone is hardly the focus of the movie. Which means, unfortunately for gore-hounds and hate-mongers, that the scope of the film is limited when it comes to events happening outside the Safety Zone, e.g. the head-chopping competition reported like a sports series in Japanese newspapers-- but perhaps the Japanese should be the ones making movies about their head-chopping champions.

In other words, this is one of those art-house "war movies" (no, "Schindler's List" doesn't count-- try "La Battaglia di Algeri") which will probably disappoint all kinds of people from action-junkies to history-buffs. And as the movie is filmed in Japanese, English, German and a variety of Chinese dialects, not to mention Mandarin spoken with various accents, only "speed-readers" with an interest in art-house films should give it a try-- as most audiences will be reading/needing subtitles most of the time.

This is because this movie is a self-declared memorial (from the film's opening titles) to the victims of Nanjing, 1937-- filled with broken bodies and minds, but also imbued with a life-loving spirit. It may be roughly divided into 3 sections which I will call (from the invaders' viewpoint) "Shock and Awe", "Rest and Recreation" and "Mission Accomplished"-- or if you prefer, "The Men", "The Women" and "The Future". The movie proceeds chronologically, but there is no real narrative flow to speak of as the audience is put into the shoes of various characters who are not privy to the "big picture". There is also no real dramatic or character development to speak of, since most these characters are just trying to stay sane or alive. And in this way, the movie quietly rises above most genre films (including "war movies")-- because every single frame of it (down to the fictional "end-credits") is pure cinema.

From the realistically "mute" sound-scape barely scored with any music-- coupled with the crystal-clear sounds of "live" shots and explosions... to the realistically "smokey" landscape adjusted to monochrome (it was filmed in full color)-- catching every grain of dust/dirt wandering in and out of focus. Every shot is a window into the blasted hell-scape of Nanking. And with very little opportunity for emoting and "acting", every single cameos (like the Caucasian roles-- would love to see a movie about Minnie Vautrin) are given unforgettably sharp and natural characterizations.

The first half-hour or so of the film presents the invaders in "Shock and Awe" mode, as they systematically "mop up" all the resistance and the men in Nanjing-- giving the audience a chance to take a long, hard look at the faces of the refugees/ prisoners-of-war. However, the main bulk of the film shows the invaders in "Rest and Recreation" mode, having fun like the youths that they are-- even at the expense of the women in the Safety Zone. The film concludes with a short epilogue after the collapse of the Safety Zone, when the invaders take full control and celebrate their "Mission Accomplished"-- but with a symbolic twist at the end shows who really had the last, bitter laugh.

The fact that this film was released in Mainland China, which doesn't have a movie-rating system, may give some the impression that it was made for mainstream or "general" audiences-- but it's probably just that Chinese parents are expected to do a bit more "homework". So apart than sharing my feelings about this film, I would give potential audiences a word or two of advice:

1) Watch the director Lu Chuan's earlier films like "The Mountain Patrol" first to get a taste of his film style/ language-- as his is a kind of neo-realism or cinema verite (completely different from the Danish Dogme films or "Reality TV") designed to immerse the audience in the film environment, rather than to convey any plot or character. To make the most out of a mountain of research, the director has simply chosen a few significant historical events (and created a few fictional "composite" characters for them)-- to make the audience "live through" the winter of 1937 in Nanking.

2) Do a little research on what was happening in 1937, (as well as the Chinese Army's last stand in Shanghai, before they gave up China's then-capital Nanking), to get a historical perspective of what happened before and during the events in film-- with some basic historical background in mind, it will be easier to understand what is being conveyed by each shot or scene-- this film is not a substitute for historical research and the director certainly does not claim to have the last word on Nanjing.

...

**SPOILERS**

...

P.S. If you didn't get all of the symbolism in the last scene-- one of them is "Fatman and Little Boy".

Plot: The Imperial Japanese capture the Chinese city of Naking in 1937 and proceed to go on an orgy of rape, murder and looting.

Some films hit you in the gut. This is one of them. It's a mini epic, which means that it confines its story to a few blocks rather than the whole city, the budget permitting no more. We start of with the conquest of the city, which provides a few combat scenes for war movie junkies. Swiftly though we're onto the post-battle. First the Japanese slaughter the Chinese POWs. Then they begin looting. If women are found then they are raped. A safe area, under the protection of the Nazi John Rabe and a handful of Europeans, is set up. The Japanese don't want to upset the Europeans so they leave them alone at first until the temptation becomes too much. Then they do the same to the safe zone as they have done everywhere else.

The story is told through both Chinese and (controversially in China) Japanese eyes. Occasionally it threatens to turn into melodrama and during the scenes of the POW slaughter the directer appears to lose control a little, overwhelmed perhaps by the size of the killings. For a good 90% of the film though this is an Asian "Come and See", as the full horrors of total (and racial) war are made clear. The film looks beautiful (especially the Church), the actors play their parts with dignity and compassion and the story is told with a measured care that only serves to make it the more powerful. Don't take your girlfriend but do watch it.

P.S. The final shots are symbolic. Think atomic.