Original title: Nanjing! Nanjing!
I wanted to post "review" of this movie for a long time now.
Always on my mind on "to do list" but never actually got to it, yet.
So here we are finally, Nanking/Nanjing 1937 - 1938, probably the biggest atrocity ever committed, and absolutely gripping movie from 2009 that portrayed what happened to (estimated by foreign observers) 200 000 - 300 000 of soldiers and civilians.
Mass murder, rape of 20 000 women, and rise of sport killing.
Or killing sports? What would be more accurate?
One well documented example (by Japan's newspaper at that time complete with photos) was not shown in the movie - A "contest" between two Japanese officers, Lt. Toshiaki Mukai and Lt. Tsuyochi Noda, to see who could behead the most prisoners in a given amount of time.
Captured Chinese soldiers were lined up and each officer used his ceremonial sword to behead them. The final "score" was Mukai 106, Noda 105.
They were put on trial and executed after the war due to the extensive evidence.
(and nature of the crime)
But back to the movie, i still don't know what else to say...
It's just that, a portrayal of one of the worst, if not the worst atrocity ever committed.
- and they apparently also managed to summon some kind of demon with the ceremony at the end.
Given the time period, and we're talking about ONE location, even Nazi Death Camps fall short of what had manifested here - to the point where even Nazis based on the reports from their observers send official communique to the Japan Empire to "chill". That says a lot when even Hitler think you're nuts.
German businessman and Nazi Party member in Nanking John Rabe actually created a safe-zone, where he invited the escaping civilian Chinese people, but the Japanese later disbanded the zone despite it being "allied" territory.
The cinematography looks very authentic focused, I love the black and white choice that makes it feel like real period footage especially due to the realistic portrayal of violence.
Some of the not many combat scenes (there was some minor resistance from Chinese army but quickly squashed) are surprisingly somewhat cartoonish (i guess they couldn't help it in the land of "flying" people - a distinguish feature of any Chinese martial art movie).
The soundtrack is near perfection in my opinion and added layers to the ever present tension.
The movie was massive success in the Chinese box office making the movie twice the budget (~$12 million) in first two weeks - for which I'm glad.
Considering that it was almost never released due to the backlash of the preview audience - main character of a Japanese soldier was portrayed positively with him taking his own life at the end of the movie despite of trying and helping Chinese people during the ordeal due to the guilt he felt during the events unfolded - which many took great offence with (the survivors and their family members we're not happy, I'm sure), but then Communist Official stepped in to support the movie and it did see the light of the day in the end - again, for which I'm glad.
This is an excellent movie! But hard to recommend something this depressing to the general audience. If you have "liked" Schindler's list, you will like this movie too.
P.S. Oh yeah, I should mention that the "ritual" was actually "a dance-ritual to celebrate their conquest of Nanjing, and to honor their death.
- and I found it to be actually really cool. I shall perform it next time I'm at the Gym to "claim" the "soil" I'm walking on as "my space".
I doubt that anyone would dare to walk into my claimed space after that.
Негізгі бет Фильм және анимация City of Life and Death (2009) - The worst atrocity ever committed?
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