Nanjing massacre movie avoids propaganda, muddles story
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7 Comments
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bamboohat
How in the world could you show any "human" side of the Japanese during that slaughter? Is this writer upset because the filmmaker didn't excuse the Japanese for their actions?
A one sided killing spree is kind of hard to show ala Clint's movies, which depicted a typical army story of a bunch of guys fighting over an island.
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scap
Yes, that last line in the article sums it up: How do you find a trace of humanity when the Japanese Imperial Army was 95% inhumane?
I hope the movie plays in many places in Japan, but probably not. The theaters are scared to death of those right wing sound trucks and their threats. Is this a democracy, or what?
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smithinjapan
The only cinemas it would play in in Japan would be repetoire places that are hidden and out of the way. I doubt the Japan Film Board would allow this to play in any major theatres. Still, it will be an interesting watch, and will be found SOMEWHERE.
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Wolfpack
The Japanese miltary created the circumstances for the Nanking massacre by the harsh training that the Japanese military used on it's men and the senseless military tactics that were used during the war. I don't say this to shift any sympathy to the Japanese soldiers, but the Japanese military and the government all the way up to the emperor, endorsed this sense that a Japanese soldier was superior to any other. These soldiers were fed a steady diet of emperor worship and racism towards any non-Japanese group, people, or culture. There are always atrocities that occur during wars; and these are usually somewhat isolated events. However, the scale of the Japanese atrocities against the people of China, Korea, and many other Asian nations is comparable only to Hitler's atrocities in Europe during the same time period.
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OssanAmerica
Nice strong statement but you are wrong on two counts, one; there were over 240,000 Korean soldiers in the Imperial Japanese armed forces, most having volunteered as the numbers far surpassed recruitment quotas. Koreans at the time were Japanese citizens. There are no "atrocities" against the Korean people that are anywhere near the scale of those against the Chinese. In fact Korean soldiers in the IJA participated in the actions in China on nthe Japanese side. This is the truth. Secondly, nothing recorded in casualty numbers or acts against civilians matches that of Nazi Germany, whose death toll of Soviets alone far surpasses those of China. That this film was screened and approved by the CCP censors is indicative of the change in position that China has taken over the last 2 years or so in improving relations with Japan, as the earlier attempts to play the history card gained absolutely nothing to China's benefit. Today the problem isn't the Chinese government but rather people who hold very biased views contrary to the government position. To wit; comments such as "How do you find a trace of humanity when the Japanese Imperial Army was 95% inhumane?" is sheer ridiculous bias as we all know that 95% of the IJA in China weren't all at Nanking. If 95% of the IJA were truly inhumane the casualty numbers and atrocity incidents would have been far greater, perhaps large eough to actually be prosecutable at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials, which incidentally Nanjing was not. There are few if ay wars where some "atrocities" don't happen no matter who or what nations are involved. And today, even though we have far less chaos and pandemonium as we did in WWII we still have such incidents occurring. No, this is not any attempt to support to justify the Japanese actions in China during WWII, it is an attempt to help the director Lu Chuan get his message accross.
0
Betzee
An expat in China has written an excellent review which arrived as a different appraisal:
Preceding the movie’s opening, many jaded expats and foreigners were quick to bemoan the possibility of “yet another” propaganda piece timed to whip up nationalist indignation and fervor, ever so coincidentally timed for the 60th anniversary of Communist China. Suggestions that China make a film about the atrocities it committed on itself rained from the peanut gallery. One recommendation: “Tiananmen! Tiananmen!” Zing, right?
Too many Chinese directors who make war films focus on creating battle scenes worthy of a Hollywood big budget film and forget about the narrative which should drive the action. According to the review, this did not happen here:
[T]he scenes of brutality, however shocking or illuminating they might be, are not going to connect “Nanjing! Nanjing!” to its audience. Rather, it will be the numerous scenes of complete and utter humanity that offers audiences a precious opportunity to better understand both others, themselves, and what we’re all capable of. These include the scenes of cowardice and bravery, defiance and resignation, self-preservation and self-sacrifice. They include the supplication for survival of a portly Shanghai husband and father, the helplessness of a compassionate German forced to give up his charges, and yes, the small things a bewildered Japanese soldier does or doesn’t do. It is this movie’s ability to give those viewers with minds and hearts open enough the opportunity to identify with each of these characters and the scope of gritty emotions they represent that makes “Nanjing! Nanjing!” a Chinese movie worthy of being compared to a spiritual predecessor, “Schindler’s List.”
For the foreigners, do not dismiss “Nanjing! Nanjing!” as a Chinese propaganda film. For the Chinese hyper-nationalists, do not denounce it for not being one. Set aside your preconceived biases and watch the film for what it was meant to be: A tale of the humanity found amongst inhumanity. Go watch it.
0
Kwaabish
Will it do better in the box office than Star Trek?
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