Nanking (2007)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Bill Guttentag
Dan Sturman

Writers (WGA):

Bill Guttentag (screenplay) &
Dan Sturman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (China)

Genre:

History

Tagline:

Even in the darkest of times there is light

Plot:

"Nanking" tells the story of the rape of Nanking, one of the most tragic events in history. In 1937...

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | 1937 | Chinese | Japanese Soldier | China

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Hugo Armstrong	...	John Magee
Rosalind Chao	...	Chang Yu Zheng
Stephen Dorff	...	Lewis Smythe
John Getz	...	George Fitch
Mariel Hemingway	...	Minnie Vautrin
Michelle Krusiec	...	Yang Shu Ling
Chris Mulkey	...	Mills McCallum
Jürgen Prochnow	...	John Rabe
Sonny Saito	...	Higashi Sakai
Graham Sibley	...	Miner Searle Bates
Mark Valley	...	Stage Manager
Robert Wu	...	Li Pu
Woody Harrelson	...	Bob Wilson

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing images and descriptions of wartime atrocities, including rape.

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Japanese | Mandarin | English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

HBO Documentary Films

Trivia:

Not to be confused with _Rape of Nanking, The (2007)_, based on Iris Chang's book with that title.

The Fresh-Blood Colored Flag of the Rising Sun

In 1937, the Japanese army invades China in a cruel war and after the fall of Shanghai, the soldiers head to the capital Nanking. A group of Western foreigners led by John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin, Bob Wilson and George Fitch create the Safety Zone, a sanctuary that was not bombed by the Japanese airplanes, to protect thousands of refugees. While the Japanese soldiers reach the town on 13 December 1937, raping, slaughtering and pillaging the civilian, the heroic group of Westerns defends the lives of about 250,000 Chinese sacrificing their own freedom, and succeeds to tell the world the crimes of war committed by the Japanese army in Nanking.

The harrowing, heartbreaking and awesome "Nanking" retells the story of the genocide in Nanking in 1937 promoted by the Japanese army. In the late 90's I saw the also impressive and disturbing "Nanjing 1937" (a.k.a. "Don't Cry, Nanking") and I confess that was the first time I heard anything about this massacre. In the movie "Shake Hands with the Devil", the Canadian General Romeo Dellaire has a fantastic line when he says that "genocide is when there are cargo train, concentration camps, gas chambers". In Hollywood, usually genocide is associated to the Jews in World War II and there are dozens of excellent movies about this dark period of the contemporary history. "Nanking" uses letters and other documents written mainly by the group of Westerns that created the Safety Zone in touching and emotional lectures of great actors and actresses; disturbing and heartbreaking testimonies of survivors; a great number of footages, in a magnificent work of research; and the wonderful music score of Kronos Quartet. I immediately associated how traumatic might have been the lives of these survivors after witnessing such cruel crimes of war. Further, in Nanking there were Westerns observers that told the world part of what happened in the city; imagine in Shanghai and in the minor towns in the countryside on the way of the Japanese troops without foreign witnesses how violent these soldiers might have been with the population. These group of expatriated shows the difference that an individual can make. I was really disturbed and sad after watching this fantastic movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): Not Available