Though not a documentary as actors represent persons involved in the Nanking crisis who are long dead, the story is told in credible documentary fashion (only, sadly, are the performances lacking; they are nearly uniformly wooden (Woody Harrelson's is a notable exception)).
The story of the rape of Nanking is so compelling that it sells itself; dialogue is practically unnecessary as the audience could get the same messages from a silent film. However, it is helped by superb archival film and photos, and an excellent script and timeline.
The Japanese are seen for what they were (or are, if you factor in the fact that today's Japanese government denies Nanking, the Korean 'comfort women', and other atrocities) and makes a viewer wonder if, all things considered, they got off too easy in 1945.
One of the film's most compelling moments was the true testimony of a surviving Japanese soldier who participated in the Nanking horrors. With laughter he admitted raping scores of Nanking women. Moreover it appears to be karma that the film is being shown in New York in 2007 just as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dodging questions in Washington about Japan's conscription of Korean women for sexual slavery during WWII.
As a good filmmaker's message is never in doubt, a 'Nanking' viewer balancing ALL the Japanese atrocities (i.e., the collective miseries of other Chinese, the Koreans, and the Filipinos) against the post-1945 reality of Japan (extreme prosperity, peace, and the protection of the American government) and its lack of contrition, can't avoid the message of shocking injustice.
This film should be shown in any course -- anywhere -- dealing with WWII.
The story of the rape of Nanking is so compelling that it sells itself; dialogue is practically unnecessary as the audience could get the same messages from a silent film. However, it is helped by superb archival film and photos, and an excellent script and timeline.
The Japanese are seen for what they were (or are, if you factor in the fact that today's Japanese government denies Nanking, the Korean 'comfort women', and other atrocities) and makes a viewer wonder if, all things considered, they got off too easy in 1945.
One of the film's most compelling moments was the true testimony of a surviving Japanese soldier who participated in the Nanking horrors. With laughter he admitted raping scores of Nanking women. Moreover it appears to be karma that the film is being shown in New York in 2007 just as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dodging questions in Washington about Japan's conscription of Korean women for sexual slavery during WWII.
As a good filmmaker's message is never in doubt, a 'Nanking' viewer balancing ALL the Japanese atrocities (i.e., the collective miseries of other Chinese, the Koreans, and the Filipinos) against the post-1945 reality of Japan (extreme prosperity, peace, and the protection of the American government) and its lack of contrition, can't avoid the message of shocking injustice.
This film should be shown in any course -- anywhere -- dealing with WWII.