City of Life and Death

One of the most dramatic episodes from the Second Chinese Japanese War is the Japanese conquest of Nanjing in December 1937 and the mass murder and rapes that followed. In his impressive reconstruction of this tragedy, the Chinese film maker Lu Chuan shows what went on in both camps. The grim lyricism of the grandiose black-and-white images and the chaos, filmed with a hand-held camera, of fights between the ruins give City of Life and Death the allure of a classic epic.
Lu avoids falling over heroes and primarily shows the attempts to survive. Among the many (historical and fictional) protagonists are the German businessman and Nazi John Rabe who tried to protect Chinese citizens, a collaborating Chinese member of Rabe’s staff, a cruel Japanese commander and a stunned Japanese soldier who cannot bear all the gruesome events. The film was released successfully in China, but also heavily criticised because of its differentiated portrayal of the Japanese.

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