Review of Nanking (2007) by Wai L — 19 Jun 2008

I admit my opinion of this film is biased from my grandfatherâ??s accounts of atrocities as a Chinese soldier during WWII, but the film gives a very balanced and accurate Schindler's List-type story about a group of Westerners in Nanking that save an estimated 250,000 Chinese lives from the Japanese.

Unlike other Nanking documentaries Iâ??ve seen, this film offers balanced perspectives from witness accounts, including Japanese soldiers, a Nazi businessman, and Western missionaries. I wasnâ??t particularly thrilled with the filmmakerâ??s choice of hiring established actorâ??s to read some of these accounts (somehow having Woody Harrelson read journal entries didnâ??t have the best emotional connection with me), but I guess it was a more effective than some cheesy reenactment those PBS historicals are so fond of.