City of Life and Death (2009)
1080p BluRay Rip | MKV | 1920 x 872 | x264 @ 10069 Kbps | 02:14:51 | 11,27 Gb
Audio: Chinese DTS 5.1 @ 1510 Kbps | Subtitles: English | Black & White
Genre: Drama, War, History | 7 wins & 6 nominations | China, Hong Kong
The scars that have devolved on succeeding generations from the Japanese Imperial Army’s “Rape of Nanking” on the eve of World War II have gained prominence in the news of recent years. We recall how the Japanese government has only been able to go so far in recognizing a national culpability. A book of that title written by Iris Chang came into prominence three times at least – the first time upon publication in 1997, on the suicide of its author in 2004, and again at the release of an incendiary documentary inspired by her book in 2007, the year that it was at last published in a Japanese translation. Given raw feelings are on both sides 70 years after the destruction of the city, the prospect of a mainstream feature film dealing with that period is likely to be met with concern and trepidation. The wonder is that director Lu Chuan finds humanity in the suffering on both sides, and has made a film both impossible to watch and yet hypnotically seductive.