In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.
Rated 5.0 / 5 from 1 log on Katalog
This film is a brutal and horrifying masterpiece that is not spoken about enough - just like the massacre it depicted. City of Life and Death left me feeling completely drained and devoid of any joy. It made me sad and angry, and it scared me deeply in a way that horror films never could. The film follows a very simple structure, and essentially cuts between the same rotation of characters as they experience one of the most unimaginable instances of mass murder and rape in human history. While most of the characters are Chinese, or western real-life historical figures, the addition of a sympathetic Japanese soldier was a surprisingly moving touch. The cinematography is gorgeous, but it captures images that will burn into your mind for all the wrong reasons. That being said, nothing is exploitative or done for shock value, and you could even argue that the violence depicted was tame compared to accounts of the real Nanjing Massacre. The best war films are not always the ones that show stories in a palatable way. If the filmmakers found a way to make the Nanjing Massacre palatable, this would’ve been an utter failure, and an insult to history. Absolutely must-watch for war film buffs, City of Life and Death is easily on par with the best World War II films ever made.
