Nanking (2007)

Wonderful Movie

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Without the focus on the heroic efforts of a small group of European and American expatriates, Nanking the film would be a near unbearable experience. The Nanking Massacre, or The Rape of Nanking as it's widely referred to, took place over a 6 week period in 1937. The Chinese capital city was invaded by Japanese troops, resulting in 200,000 (or more depending on varying estimates) innocent people raped and slaughtered. Tales of civilians being forced to have sex with corpses or family members, unborn foetus's being cut out of their mother's belly with bayonet's, or the gang-rape of small girls and boys are all confirmed here. But Nanking achieves its power not through shocking and repulsing but by showing the triumph of the human spirit in the face of hell on Earth.Although plenty of archival footage is used - from the beautiful, pulsating Nanking sitting proudly as China's capital, to it's destruction through heavy bombing - a bulk of the film consists of readings by actors of diary entries written by the likes of Nazi party member John Rabe and American missionary Minnie Vautrin. Rabe and Vautrin were part of a small, wealthy group of men and women who decided against fleeing Naking, and set up a 'Safety Zone' inside the city. The actors, including the likes of Jurgen Prochnow, Mariel Hemingway, Woody Harrelson and Stephen Dorff, are earnest and understated in their delivery, and this helps give these moments an urgency, when it could have come off as trying to add some Hollywood gloss to a devastating event.The Japanese agreed to the implementation of the safety zone, but their soldiers would parade the grounds, raping women at will and dragging men off to be executed on mass for being suspected enemy soldiers. Still, the protection offered by Rabe, Vautrin, Bob Wilson et al is estimated at being responsible for the survival of 200,000 Chinese lives. This is hard stuff to watch, one of the most despicable war crimes ever committed - interviews with Chinese survivors and seemingly remorseless and disconnected Japanese soldiers hit particularly hard - but this is essential viewing, proving that in order to move forward, we must look back.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

A powerful film recounting the atrocities committed before World War 2 in China by members of the Japanese military. The bulk of the film is told as journal entries from the actual people who were involved. There are also interviews with the actual survivors and some of the 'participants' as well from the Japanese army.It's quite an interesting effect. The voice overs are combined with actual footage from the war. And it gives a sad realism to it.For me the worst part was the ending where the atrocities were documented and brought to the attention of the American politicians but they chose to turn a blind eye to it - as did the rest of the international community.For shame. The US of A had the same reaction to the news as Hitler's Germany - they both turned a blind eye.

World War II is usually glossed over as a western war. I rarely hear stories about the Japanese invasion of China, especially the massacre the Japanese committed against the Chinese in Nanking. It's good to see these kinds of documentaries coming out of the west where the focus is usually on the brave allies blowing up Nazis. Even the bombing of Dresden is buried and suppressed by veterans who don't want to be seen as cold, callous murderers, even though that's exactly what they are.Nanking is an excellent documentary about an absolutely disgraceful time in human history. What's even more disgraceful is that humanity hasn't learned from these mistakes and much of the same events are going on in the world today.

I watch movies for two reasons: to be entertained, and to be informed. This is one of the most informative movies that I have ever seen.The actions of the Japanese soldiers in 1937 as they invaded China was on a par with many of the atrocities that we have seen in our lifetime in Bosnia, Darfur, etc. It is a story that will stick with you for a long time.This is the story of a handful of foreigners who stayed behind as others fled and tried to save as many Chinese as they could. They saved over 250,000 by setting up a safe zone. Another 200,000 were killed and 20,000 women, between 12 and 60, were raped by the Japanese soldiers.The Japanese killed all young men just because they may be soldiers. They gang raped every night as many women as they could. It was an atrocity that clearly shows the level to which soldiers go in time of war. It is easy to commit these heinous crimes when you look upon the enemy as gooks, or nips, or chinks.A powerful film that should be seen by everyone.