For the second time in one week, a shocking movie about the second Sino-Japanese war has opened in NYC.
On Friday, Japan’s “Caterpillar” bowed at the IFC Center. It’s the brilliantly rendered story of a Japanese soldier — minus his four limbs and his hearing, but not his passion for sex — who’s sent home to be cared for by his wife.
Today, “City of Life and Death,” by Chinese director Lu Chuan, debuts at Film Forum. While “Caterpillar” dwells on one family, “City” concerns hundreds of thousands of people in its dramatized account of what has become known as the “Rape of Nanking.”
In 1937, Japanese troops attacked the then-capital of China, Nanking. It took only a few days for the city to fall.
Then, in a series of events that Japan continues to dispute, the invaders systematically massacred Chinese troops and murdered and raped civilians. China put the final death toll at 300,000.
Using stark black-and-white cinematography that accentuates the film’s power, Lu tests our endurance with his account of unspeakable horrors. (The mass executions are especially disturbing.)
But there are tender moments, too — like that of a Japanese soldier’s love for a Chinese prostitute.
Overall, “City of Life and Death” is tough to watch — but well worth the effort.