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City of Life and Death

City of Life and Death (2009)

October. 01,2009
|
7.7
|
R
| Drama History War

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.

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Reviews

Steineded
2009/10/01

How sad is this?

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Jonah Abbott
2009/10/02

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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Mandeep Tyson
2009/10/03

The acting in this movie is really good.

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Caryl
2009/10/04

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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Jon Plowman
2009/10/05

I am a dedicated fan of good war films, and have a substantial proportion of the greats in my own personal collection; so it is with some experience of the genre that I say that Chuan Lu's film is an absolutely outstanding cinematic masterpiece. This is an awesome achievement which stands head and shoulders above so much of the competition. Brilliantly written, brilliantly directed, topical and yet also historically authentic, it brings some fantastic talent to the screen who all give uniformly superb performances. The film is shot in black and white, which gives it a gritty, unsparing authenticity, and the cinematography is masterful and evocative. Every shot looks like a period photograph. The battle scenes are realistic, well choreographed, and technically accurate. And the music is haunting, contributing to the film at every level, and building to a heartbreaking climax. This is without doubt one of the best films I have ever seen, but it is also not for the faint of heart. The sheer squalor, horror, brutality and inhumanity of war is not shied away from, nor is the audience ever spared. Expect to come away from watching it emotionally drained.

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roseelizabethsupan-519-958886
2009/10/06

Astounding film. I'm still haunted by the masterful way the unblinking atrocities and the study of the human condition exist side by side in this film. It's not for the faint of heart, but for those who can make their way through the horror,there's much to take away from this film. Each character followed in this story fills a purpose. The opening is the actual occupation of Nanking, and it's just as unrelenting as Saving Private Ryan's D-Day sequence. Little dialogue, just war. The rest of the film chronicles the atrocities as it focuses on individuals. There are scenes in this film that I will take with me forever, like the best of films give you.

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soundchaysa
2009/10/07

I was not familiar with the real life story of what happened at Nanjing. It would have been very easy for a director to exploit and over-dramatise this sordid piece of human history, yet Lu Chuan and his wonderful cast have done a fantastic job here.The acting is absolutely top rate. Not a hint of melodrama in sight, nothing overdone and the brutal horror of war, especially that directed at civilians comes across at exactly the right pitch. So much of the story is told simply in facial expressions that the horrors committed in the city did not need to be graphically or gratuitously filmed. Brilliant underplaying by the cast which is surely also a reflection of the directors vision and intelligence.Yes, some of the scenes are violent and brutal, but (at the risk of repeating myself) they simply and in a matter-of-fact way show what people are capable of. The fact that this was done almost as if one were watching a documentary or even as a witness places this film light- years away from the "Let's find heroes and villains" feel of many Hollywood war films.I'm not often moved to rush off and write a review of a film which only shows how moving this work is. I can't give it high enough praise.

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richard6
2009/10/08

"City of Life and Death" is one of the most powerful cinema experiences to depict both courageous and barbaric acts of humanity you may ever witness. Whether regarded as factual or fictionalised, this films weighs heavily and emotionally on the audience without obligation. Released in black and white, in documentary type reflection, Lu Chuan's film delineates the 1937 Japanese occupation of, then, China's capital Naking. Knowing full well that they were breaking international conventions of war, they disguised the massacre from the rest of the world.With severity, "City of Lfe and death" is portrayed from both a Chinese and Japanese perceptive from witnesses and testimonies gathered at the time. Alloted among hundreds of testimonial soldiers and civilians, a handful of characters proclaim the principal story. Significantly, German national John Rabe, his assistant Mr. Tang, a naïve Japanese officer named Kadokawa and various woman caught in the midst of the massacre. Prominemnely, Miss Jiang and Chinese prostitute Xiaojiang. The faculties of cruelty are manifested in ambitious scenes of either battle, civilians fleeing the fallen city and orchestrations of horrific war crimes. Most notable the massacre of Chinese Prisinors of War being machine gunned to death, buried alive, set on fire or marched into the sea. Yet, efficacious as these scenes are, the films most powerful presence is focused on the for-mentioned handful of characters who fought and died in this imposing space of urban devastation. Conspicousasly, the emotions of bravery are portrayed in these characters individually. The spirited actions of Nazi Rabe, the suicidal motivations of Mr Tang and Miss Jiang. Also, not forgetting the sacrificial act from Xiaojiang. Most notable, from my viewing perspective, is the scene where a captured Chinese solider covers a little Chinese boys eyes with his hand to blind him from his impending death. This scene is one of the most tending images I have ever witnessed on screen. Environing these scenes, the director acutely puts the atrocities on-screen without warning and without insightful rationale to understand the motivations of barbarism. In this review, I have decided not to detail these acts of humanity. After reading this review I mention favourably for the reviewer to witness this remarkable film. "City of Life and Death" easily achieves a convincible spectacle of mass atrocity and a magnitude of slaughter.

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