Nanking (2007)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Directors:

Bill Guttentag
Dan Sturman

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (China)

Genre:

Documentary | 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:

3 wins & 3 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.

An Event That Should Never Be Forgotten

How do you write about a documentary on an atrocity committed during the darkest days of modern history? You feel grief, and anger, and downright bewilderment. To cast these feelings aside and think about the film on it's own is almost impossible. Can you talk about the structure of the film, whether it's well-paced, or the performances commendable? The subject itself almost consumes all of your thought, you wonder how it could ever have happened, and more important, if it is ever possible that you can ever commit such an act of brutality.

Having actors perform the roles of the foreigners who are deemed saviours of the Chinese is perhaps a bad move on the filmmakers' part. Even though they make no attempt to hide the fact that it is a performance, or rather, actors at a staged table-reading, it stands in too stark a contrast to the interviews with the Chinese survivors and Japanese soldiers. In particular, 2 Japanese soldiers, now in their twilight years, seem to be filmed at a distance, maybe even unknowing of the fact that they are being recorded. They talk about the killings and rapings impassively, even with a little hint of smugness. It ironically holds a mirror to the actors' readings of characters. Do they hate the Japanese? No, as the actress representing Minnie Vautrin said. So filled with kindness are they that it's almost as unbelievable as the monstrosity of the Rape of Nanking.