Liu Ye in the City of Life and Death 2009

City of Life and Death (2009) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese –南京! 南京!
Title in Pinyin – Nan Jing Nan Jing

Genre – History and War

Subject/theme – The defeat of Nanjing and the horrors that following during the Sin-Japanese war

Language – Mandarin

Region – China

Release date
China – 22 April 2009
Hong Kong – 7 May 2009
Canada – 11 September 2009
Australia – 24 July 2009

Movie runtime – 133 minutes

Director – Lu Chuan

Cast & Role Played
Liu Ye – Lu Jianxiong
Hideo Nakaizumi – Kaodokawa
John Paisley – John Rabe
Fan Wei – Mr Tang
Jiang Yiyan – rape victim

Story
Set in 1937, a City of Life and Death is about the Japanese capture and subsequent occupation of the Chinese Capital Nanjing during the second Sino-Japanese war and the atrocities that following.  The story follows the exploits of a number of characters such as a group of Chinese soldiers led by Lu and the Japanese they were fighting, a young Japanese solider Kaodokawa, rape victims and Chinese turncoats.

This movie is an eloquent and surprisingly impartial look at the horrors committed by the Japanese during the battle of Nanjing and the occupation that followed. That period is known as the Nanjing Massacre where thousands of prisoners of war and civilians were slaughtered in mass executions and rape was a daily occurrence for Chinese females trapped in the city.

City of Life and Death Links
IMDb Movie Database for City of Life and Death
Youtube Trailer for City of Life and Death

City of Life and Death Movie Posters