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

The farewell scene between Rabe and Dora at the docks involved 750 extras.

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Goofs

The USS Panay is shown as a passenger ship when she was in fact a U.S. Navy River Gunboat. The movie shows the Panay being attacked within sight of Nanking (now known as Nanjing) but in reality it had moved 28 miles upriver and dropped anchor, along with three Standard Oil tankers. The attack lasted for 2.5 hours until the ship finally sunk. The attack left 3 sailors dead, 43 sailors and 5 civilians wounded.

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Quotes

John Rabe: Stop it! This is the safety zone. Get out and leave the women alone.
[Rabe switches to German and makes a Nazi salute]
John Rabe: We're Germans. Germans. We're Germans.
[Japanese officer aims his pistol at Rabe]
John Rabe: Help me out here, damn it!
Dr. Georg Rosen: [Rosen also makes a Nazi salute] Heil... Shitler. Heil Shitler.
John Rabe: [after resolving the situation] That's not funny.
Dr. Georg Rosen: We got through.
John Rabe: All the same, he is the Führer of the German people.
Dr. Georg Rosen: And shall I tell you what I don't find funny?
[...]

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Alternate Versions

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

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Soundtracks

Colonel Bogey March
Music by Kenneth Alford
Lyrics attributed to Toby O'Brien (uncredited)
Performed by Ulrich Tukur and Steve Buscemi

User Reviews

An unsung hero

This is the second film about the Nanking (Nanjing) massacre of 1937, to come out recently. Both feature a man whose bravery saved many thousands of lives and who was largely unknown to the wider world until very recently. John Rabe was a member of the Nazi party and had worked in Nanking as the senior executive for Siemens for many years. In the eponymous film it's suggested that he is about to return to Germany, but his departure is prevented by the sudden attack with over-powering military force, by the Japanese.

Rabe stays, and heads a committee that sets up a safety zone around the Siemens works and the main embassies. When the Japanese take Nanking, and embark on wholesale rape and slaughter, this zone keeps more than 200,000 Chinese in greater safety that elsewhere in the city.

The story is seen through Rabe's eyes mainly and focuses more on Westerners than the Japanese, although the dire impact of a member of the Imperial Family on the decisions made by the Japanese to execute unarmed soldiers, is highlighted .

Some beheadings are shown but the wide scale practice of rape and enforced prostitution is skirted around. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of menace, instant arbitrary death and fanaticism is established effectively.

The film grips and, in its own way, inspires. It is interesting to see this film and the more symbolic approach taken by Chuan Lu in 'City of Life and Death'. Both cover the same time period. Both are films that leave you pondering on human nature, its heights and its gross distortions.

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