| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ye Liu | ... | Lu Jianxiong | |
| Yuanyuan Gao | ... | Miss Jiang | |
| Wei Fan | ... | Mr. Tang | |
| Lan Qin | ... | Mrs. Tang | |
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Hideo Nakaizumi | ... | Sgt. Masao Kadokawa |
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Ryu Kohata | ... | Officer Osamu Ida (as Kohata Ryuichi) |
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Yiyan Jiang | ... | Jiang Xiang Jun / Xiao Jiang |
| Di Yao | ... | Zhou Xiaomei / May | |
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Yisui Zhao | ... | Shunzi |
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Bin Liu | ... | Xiao Douzi (Juvenile) |
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Yûko Miyamoto | ... | Yuriko |
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John Paisley | ... | John Rabe |
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Beverly Peckous | ... | Miss Minnie Vautrin |
| Sam Voutas | ... | Durdin (as You Sima) | |
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Aisling Dunne | ... | Doctor |
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
I finished watching this film two hours ago and the punch in the stomach I received watching it still hurts. I don't recall having received such a punch in my 60 or so years of film watching. Unlike films such as "Schindler's List" or "Empire of the Sun", this film does not take sides. It's like a candid camera operated by an invisible grand master hidden in the crowd or the rubble. It's just there recording events. As a result, despite the fact that it focuses on the big picture, the individual is not lost: Both the Chinese and the Japanese, each and every one of them, in huge crowds are real believable characters. This gives the viewer a grand and horrible sense of presence which is what makes it so painful. It would take courage to watch it again.