Review of City of Life and Death (2009) by Gillian C — 11 Oct 2009

Accomplished epic that exemplifies changing attitudes within the would-be east asian co-prosperity sphere while perhaps less successfully attempting more broad commercial appeal. Director Lu Chuan's largest film to date, this interestingly casts Hideo Nakaizumi as Kadokawa - a Japanese protagonist in Nanjing on the eve of the massacre.

It also concerns Fan Wei, playing a Chinese assistant to historic German entrepreneur John Rabe. Despite a highly sympathertic portrayal, the semi-Westernized assistant becomes a collaborationist in a largely futile attempt to protect his wife and others within the ill-named Safety Zone from their systematic rape.

Rabe's depiction invites comparison to Schindler's List. It should also be interesting to compare this to the German co-production, titled John Rabe (2009). However, the style of action used for an early urban guerilla battle differs significantly from Western war films.

The film also shows a doomed attempt by Kadokawa at wooing a Japanese comfort woman. This move allows the condemnation of the practice while lessening the potential for the film fueling greater anti-Japanese sentiment. The recruitment of Chinese comfort women is shown quite tragically, but much of the rape is off screen.

In general, this is a very restrained film. Certainly more so than many other nations films concerning Japanese military atrocities, such as HK's.

Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre, Russia's Philosophy of a Knife or even Yasuzo Masamura's Akai Tenshi.

Exploitation is avoided not only in terms of sexual violence, but also in the characterizations. No one who is depicted in any depth is demonized as a one-dimensional villain or ennobled as a saintly victim.

Liu Ye continues a streak of excellent performances as a witness to early massacres, and his chemistry with a child soldier is magnetic. Their small gestures and slight changes in facial expression carry far more impact than typical wartime melodrama.

If anything, I would only fault the film for trying too hard to appeal to Western audiences. Using English language letters and postcards as an historical bridging device between chapters may frame the narrative well, but struck me as a bit forced. Similarly, the English language actors are just not in the same league as their counterparts. While better actors than those in many Asian films, (see JSA for an example) their acting style and line delivery were distractingly out of place.

Still, this is an outstanding film by a superb director with many fine performances by young actors like Liu Ye, Gao Yuanyuan and Hideo Nakaizumi. It is very rewarding to see such a restrained film dealing with the subject of Nanjing, and the careful balance taken. This should be interesting to contrast with earlier, more exploitative films and contemporary international productions.