Many good and innocent kids/women/men perished in this bitter event of Chinese history. I feel sad when I read on this event. * April 28, 2009, 3:18 AM ET Film on Nanjing Massacre a Big Hit in China A somber new movie about the Nanjing massacre during China’s war with Japan (1937-1945) has become a big hit in Chinese theaters since opening last Wednesday (April 22). The massacre, which occurred after Japanese troops occupied Nanjing in December 1937, saw the deaths of as many as 300,000 Chinese, including many civilians, and it remains a point of contention between the two countries. The 130-minute movie, titled “Nanking! Nanking!” (also known as “City of Life and Death” in English), shows the events through the eyes of different people, including a Chinese soldier, a young Japanese soldier and ordinary citizens. The entire film was shot in black and white with handheld cameras, and dozens of Japanese actors participated in the filming. Director Lu Chuan, who spent four years and over 80 million yuan ($11.7 million) making the film, said the film grossed 70 million yuan ($10 million) in the first five days, a relatively large sum given its subject matter and lack of big-name film stars. (By way of comparison, last year’s John Woo-directed, star-studded blockbuster “Red Cliff: Part One” made $16 million during in its opening weekend). The film has provoked intense reactions from the audience, and China’s Internet forums are packed with discussions about it — the popular social networking site Douban.com already carries over 1,500 audience reviews of the movie. Opinions regarding the movie, however, appear sharply divided. While many applaud it for its “unique way of story-telling” and showing “the power of truth,” others criticized it for “excessive shots of rape scenes” and “attempting to beautify the Japanese invaders.” Below are some selected comments from online– From Sina: “I am extremely angry after watching the movie. It sees the war merely from the perspective of Japanese soldier–focusing on his personal experience and feelings about the massacre…It’s not a movie for patriotic education, but a Japanese movie shot by Chinese director,” said a Web user from Hunan province, “The Nanjing Massacre was not war, but a brutal crime against international law. So if the movie doesn’t disclose and denounce the crime in this light, I don’t think it’s appropriate from any other angle.” “I went to the premiere of the movie, and I think it’s indeed a great movie. If we avoid mentioning the topic simply because it’s painful, who will remember the disaster and learn from it?” said another person from Beijing. From Netease: “Lu Chuan is problematic! The whole movie is problematic! The movie tells us that the Japanese invaders gave Nanjing’s civilians many choices. Is it possible for a conquered city and a conquered group to have a choice?” said a Netease user from Shanghai. “I went to the movie yesterday and burst into tears. I hate wars…really grateful that some people will make such a movie for the Chinese people, instead of those boring and meaningless movies.” A Sichuan web user said. “The problem with this movie, I think, is that the director took too narrow a view, given that the movie is titled ‘Nanjing! Nanjing!’ I expected to get a sense of the whole city, but unfortunately, Lu Chuan failed to do this. The film was supposed to show a bird’s eye view of the whole city, but it ended up in one refugee camp. And even if it’s telling the story of a refugee camp, it’s torn into pieces. The characters are too formulaic,” blogger Ding Xiaoyuan wrote in his review of the movie. Director Lu said that he just wanted to portray the war from a different angle. “Chinese films often demonized Japanese soldiers,” he said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, “I made this movie just to open a window for more discourse on either side.” The movie has also gained support from the government. Several movies were made about the Nanjing massacre and planned for release in 2007, the 70th anniversary of the killings, but “Nanking! Nanking!” is the only one to be released so far. The Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television put it on a list of 10 recommended films to commemorate this year’s 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This weekend, another film on the Nanjing massacre opens nationwide. The Sino-German co-production “John Rabe,” which won best film at the German Film Awards ceremony in Berlin last week, is based on the true story of a German businessman (sometimes referred to as “China’s Oskar Schindler”) who aided Chinese refugees fleeing the Japanese. –Juliet Ye and Sky Canaves
