City of Life and Death – Nanjing! Nanjing! (Film)

Posted by Jason Sharp on May 7, 2009 in China | View Comments
City of Life and Death – Nanjing! Nanjing! (Film)

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Nanjing! Nanjing! – City of life and death – was not an emotional roller coaster as most films like this tend to be.  There was no happiness.  There was no point that I felt like jumping for joy.  If you know anything about the Japanese “rape of Nanking,” then you know that it was one of the most horrific massacres in recorded history.

Yet, the film didn’t seem to dig deep enough in our emotions – perhaps due to the lack of happiness or hope or even character development (the characters are sort of just there, there is very little change in their character).  There seems to be a slight amount of hope in the opening scene, but that quickly fades and the movie continues on a very gray path as the Japanese quickly come in and demolish everything.

The implications of Nanjing! Nanjing! are extremely important.  Previous Japan-China war films were very one sided – showing only the Japanese brutality and Chinese determination and nationalism.  This film’s main character is actually a Japanese soldier with a conscious.  He is appalled by the horrors that his fellow soldiers are inflicting upon the Chinese and even upon their own (the comfort women included Japanese).

A Japanese main character with a conscious to me seems like a director trying to make a change.  There has been very little reconciliation between Japan and China since the war, and Nanjing! Nanjing! is the largest step that I have seen so far.  To me this film says “Hey Japan, we understand that not all Japanese are evil.  There were a lot of bad things that were done, sure, but it’s not impossible to reconcile as long as you show remorse.”

Wouldn’t it be amazing if a Japanese director then made a film in response to this gesture?

One thing that bothered me a little bit about the film is how watered down it feels.  I imagine that what really happened in Nanjing is a lot more horrific than anything that is shown in this film.  The rapes, the grotesque and perverted murders are all semi-covered up and watered down.  There are scenes with bodies and deaths, but none of it makes you turn your head.

My only guess as to why the director chose to take this path was that the underlying point of the film is not to show what everyone already knows – that the rape of Nanking would make any fan of “Saw” cringe – but rather to send that other message: we will not forget, but we can move on.

2 Thumbs up from me.  Go see it!

Has anyone else out there seen the movie?  What do you think?  Did you like it?

If you are interested in China, check out my post on Trust in Chinese Society

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  • ziva

    During holiday–International Labor Day I seen this movie in Broadway Cinema. It was a shock to see Japanese soldier brutal behavior. When Japanese soldier throw out Mr. Jiang’s daughter from the window, I couldn’t help my tears. And finish watching the movie with my weep eyes.
    Beyond my personal emotion, I don’t think Lu Chuan (director) is simply introducing one of the most horrific massacres in recorded history in China to us. There was a shady in everyone’s deep heart, no matter Chinese or Japanese.
    At the beginning of the film, Jiao Chuan (the Japanese solder) lost himself in the sunlight. When Jiao Chuan first meet Bai He (Japanese comfort women), his naturally response for today is freak in that background, and embarrassed him. Jiao Chuan was desperate when Bai He was dead because of many solder’s ravage. At last, behind the grand worship pageant to death in the war is Jiao Chuan desperate soul. As he said, “dead is easier than life”……
    Another clue is Chinese people. They scared, then they desperate, then they brave to refuse, then they resist. This is a history of Chinese aware to resistance, aware to strength, aware to independence.
    In a word, this is a film which worth to seeing.

    TOP! Don`t forget bring your handkerchief when you see this film.

  • ziva

    During holiday–International Labor Day I seen this movie in Broadway Cinema. It was a shock to see Japanese soldier brutal behavior. When Japanese soldier throw out Mr. Jiang’s daughter from the window, I couldn’t help my tears. And finish watching the movie with my weep eyes.
    Beyond my personal emotion, I don’t think Lu Chuan (director) is simply introducing one of the most horrific massacres in recorded history in China to us. There was a shady in everyone’s deep heart, no matter Chinese or Japanese.
    At the beginning of the film, Jiao Chuan (the Japanese solder) lost himself in the sunlight. When Jiao Chuan first meet Bai He (Japanese comfort women), his naturally response for today is freak in that background, and embarrassed him. Jiao Chuan was desperate when Bai He was dead because of many solder’s ravage. At last, behind the grand worship pageant to death in the war is Jiao Chuan desperate soul. As he said, “dead is easier than life”……
    Another clue is Chinese people. They scared, then they desperate, then they brave to refuse, then they resist. This is a history of Chinese aware to resistance, aware to strength, aware to independence.
    In a word, this is a film which worth to seeing.

    TOP! Don`t forget bring your handkerchief when you see this film.

  • ziva

    During holiday–International Labor Day I seen this movie in Broadway Cinema. It was a shock to see Japanese soldier brutal behavior. When Japanese soldier throw out Mr. Jiang’s daughter from the window, I couldn’t help my tears. And finish watching the movie with my weep eyes.
    Beyond my personal emotion, I don’t think Lu Chuan (director) is simply introducing one of the most horrific massacres in recorded history in China to us. There was a shady in everyone’s deep heart, no matter Chinese or Japanese.
    At the beginning of the film, Jiao Chuan (the Japanese solder) lost himself in the sunlight. When Jiao Chuan first meet Bai He (Japanese comfort women), his naturally response for today is freak in that background, and embarrassed him. Jiao Chuan was desperate when Bai He was dead because of many solder’s ravage. At last, behind the grand worship pageant to death in the war is Jiao Chuan desperate soul. As he said, “dead is easier than life”……
    Another clue is Chinese people. They scared, then they desperate, then they brave to refuse, then they resist. This is a history of Chinese aware to resistance, aware to strength, aware to independence.
    In a word, this is a film which worth to seeing.
    TIPS! Don’t forget bring your handkerchief when you see the film.

  • ziva

    During holiday–International Labor Day I seen this movie in Broadway Cinema. It was a shock to see Japanese soldier brutal behavior. When Japanese soldier throw out Mr. Jiang’s daughter from the window, I couldn’t help my tears. And finish watching the movie with my weep eyes.
    Beyond my personal emotion, I don’t think Lu Chuan (director) is simply introducing one of the most horrific massacres in recorded history in China to us. There was a shady in everyone’s deep heart, no matter Chinese or Japanese.
    At the beginning of the film, Jiao Chuan (the Japanese solder) lost himself in the sunlight. When Jiao Chuan first meet Bai He (Japanese comfort women), his naturally response for today is freak in that background, and embarrassed him. Jiao Chuan was desperate when Bai He was dead because of many solder’s ravage. At last, behind the grand worship pageant to death in the war is Jiao Chuan desperate soul. As he said, “dead is easier than life”……
    Another clue is Chinese people. They scared, then they desperate, then they brave to refuse, then they resist. This is a history of Chinese aware to resistance, aware to strength, aware to independence.
    In a word, this is a film which worth to seeing.
    TIPS! Don’t forget bring your handkerchief when you see the film.

  • http://synyanlive.spaces.live.com John

    I think your film review is very good. I would prefer to translate my review to anybody as a Chinese though. Anyway, thx and please let more people know about this film.

  • http://synyanlive.spaces.live.com John

    I think your film review is very good. I would prefer to translate my review to anybody as a Chinese though. Anyway, thx and please let more people know about this film.

  • http://beyondbounds.org Jason Sharp

    Hi John. I guess you are Tiger (老虎)?

    I read your film review and I think you make some very good points, and I agree with pretty much everything you said. I didn’t go as in depth as you did with the film technique critique, mainly because I don’t have so much experience and I got pretty lazy with the blog post.

    If you would like to translate your post into English, I’d be happy to post the review here. It’d be nice to give people a taste of what is going on in a Chinese’s head when they watch this film.

  • http://beyondbounds.org Jason Sharp

    Hi John. I guess you are Tiger (老虎)?

    I read your film review and I think you make some very good points, and I agree with pretty much everything you said. I didn’t go as in depth as you did with the film technique critique, mainly because I don’t have so much experience and I got pretty lazy with the blog post.

    If you would like to translate your post into English, I’d be happy to post the review here. It’d be nice to give people a taste of what is going on in a Chinese’s head when they watch this film.

  • Jinkun Hu

    Initially, I wanna say this is an impressive review! It is fun to learn about the movie from your angle. But I don’t understand why you say that “the film didn’t seem to dig deep enough in our emotions” , cause so many friends of mine(Chinese) felt extremely sad or angry, even some of them were out of control. Maybe you are right, for you are a foreigner, outside man, which means your mind can be more impersonal than us while you are watching this movie. Besides, I want to explain the watering-down feeling. Chinese government forbids the appearing of extremely violent, erotic and bloody scene in movies. As a result, the director can not bring back the vivid scene of the war. Technically, Nanjing! Nanjing! has passed that bottom line a little bit. Considering the theme of this movie, Chinese goverment just omitted a few of scene of the movie.

  • Jinkun Hu

    Initially, I wanna say this is an impressive review! It is fun to learn about the movie from your angle. But I don’t understand why you say that “the film didn’t seem to dig deep enough in our emotions” , cause so many friends of mine(Chinese) felt extremely sad or angry, even some of them were out of control. Maybe you are right, for you are a foreigner, outside man, which means your mind can be more impersonal than us while you are watching this movie. Besides, I want to explain the watering-down feeling. Chinese government forbids the appearing of extremely violent, erotic and bloody scene in movies. As a result, the director can not bring back the vivid scene of the war. Technically, Nanjing! Nanjing! has passed that bottom line a little bit. Considering the theme of this movie, Chinese goverment just omitted a few of scene of the movie.

  • http://beyondbounds.org Jason Sharp

    Jinkun

    Perhaps you are right that it may have been due to the Chinese government. I should have taken that into consideration. I definitely enjoyed the movie, although I do think that it took quite a progressive position when compared to older films in this genre. Thanks for the explanation

  • http://beyondbounds.org Jason Sharp

    Jinkun

    Perhaps you are right that it may have been due to the Chinese government. I should have taken that into consideration. I definitely enjoyed the movie, although I do think that it took quite a progressive position when compared to older films in this genre. Thanks for the explanation

  • http://www.patchett-group.co.uk/ letting agents in Bradford

    Chinese Govt. should be sole responsible for this. The movie is great and the topsy turvy incidents really made the movie really stupendous. Though not compared to the movie in old genre anyway, yet it’s depicted beautifully.

  • http://www.patchett-group.co.uk/ letting agents in Bradford

    Chinese Govt. should be sole responsible for this. The movie is great and the topsy turvy incidents really made the movie really stupendous. Though not compared to the movie in old genre anyway, yet it’s depicted beautifully.

  • http://www.mactonweb.com web design bangalore

    I am new to this really I got great information from this site super posting

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