John Rabe (2009)

A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.

Director:

Florian Gallenberger

Writers:

Florian Gallenberger, John Rabe (diaries)

Stars:

Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Brühl, Steve Buscemi

8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ulrich Tukur	...	John Rabe
Daniel Brühl	...	Dr. Georg Rosen
Steve Buscemi	...	Dr. Robert Wilson
Anne Consigny	...	Valérie Dupres
Dagmar Manzel	...	Dora Rabe
Jingchu Zhang	...	Langshu
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Prince Asaka Yasuhiko
Mathias Herrmann	...	Werner Fließ
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Col. Nakajima Kesago
Akira Emoto	...	Gen. Matsui Iwane
Arata Iura	...	Major Ose (as Arata)
Shaun Lawton	...	John Magee
Christian Rodska	...	Lewis Smythe
Gottfried John	...	Dr. Oskar Trautmann
Fang Yu	...	Han

Storyline

After 28 years building and managing a vast Siemens plant in Nanking, John Rabe is ordered by the new Nazi regime to close it down. Before he can pack, the Japanese army, lead unofficially by a bloodthirsty imperial uncle, lays siege to the city. Rabe accepts, as prominent representative of Japans' major European ally, to head the Western ex-pats society's plan to start and run an international zone, like worked in Shangai. Rabe however wants it to save his workers and their close ones, over 200,000, and sacrifices all his personal interests.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese occupation | japanese occupation of china | character name as title | two word title | based on real person | 

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Taglines:

History needs extraordinary heroes.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the chief headaches for the production involved the scene where a Japanese soldier insists on searching the girls' dormitory in the college and orders the girls to remove their nightgowns. A huge majority of Chinese actresses refused to appear nude because it would have brought shame to their families.

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Goofs

When the safety zone is being established, a banner is being hung over the portal. The mis-spelled inscription reads "INTERNATIONAL SAFTY ZONE".

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Quotes

John Rabe: To the Führer of the German people. Chancellor Adolf Hitler. My Führer. As a loyal party member and upstanding German. I turn to you in a time of great need. The Japanese Imperial troops conquered the city of Nanking on December 12, 1937. Since then I have witnessed atrocious crimes against civilians. Please help to end this catastrophe and make an appeal to our Japanese allies in the name of humanity. With a German salute.
[Rabe signs the letter]

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Alternate Versions

German TV version features ca. 45 minutes of additional footage.

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Soundtracks

Piccolo Ucello
Written and performed by Ulrich Tukur

User Reviews

German Schindler

John Rabe is a person that actually existed and this is a (bit of a) fictionalized version of what he and the people he were trusted on, had to go through. Now this is the German version of that story. There is another side to that coin. And that other side is called "City of Life and Death" and is made from the Chinese perspective. So I guess the truth is somewhere in-between.

But this fairly good made and has a strong character (actor) in the midst of it all. The story is really touching and involves a lot of bad things happening. But as written above, you will have sides that you will choose, whom you like and whom you don't. What it does have over the Chinese "version", is a main character you can hold onto.

I'd suggest you watch both movies in a double feature to get the whole package.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

France China Germany

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin German Japanese English Ukrainian

Release Date:

2 April 2009 (Germany)

Also Known As:

John Rabe

Filming Locations:

Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,892, 23 May 2010

Gross USA:

$67,519

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,484,665

Company Credits

Production Co:

H&V Entertainment, EOS Entertainment, Majestic Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1