City of Life and Death (南京! 南京!)
Last night we finally watched the film City of Life and Death (Nanking! Nanking!), director Lu Chuan’s epic drama of the Nanjing Massacre that took place in 1937 when the Japanese invaded and occupied China.
The film gives a glimpse of the atrocities committed by the Japanese during the weeks following the capture of then capital of China, Nanjing. During this short period, hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were killed, raped, and tortured. To this day, this event remains a serious political issue as the Japanese government either disputes its existence or claims it was exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Needless to say, this makes the Chinese quite upset. It would be like the German government officially denying the holocaust. It’s almost unbelievable that in 2009 this event is still glossed over or banned outright from Japanese history textbooks.
The story revolves around a few characters: a Chinese soldier, a remorseful Japanese soldier, and a ‘running dog’ or traitor who gives information to the Japanese to save himself and his family. The film depicts the mass slaughter, rape, and sadistic behavior of the invaders, while trying to humanize it through representation of both sides.