Watch online: Nanjing! Nanjing! - 09 Latest Big Film "Nanjing! Nanjing!" DVD Mandarin with Chinese subtitles

◎Eng Title: Nanjing! Nanjing!

◎Title: Nanking Nanking

◎Year: 2009

◎Country: China/Hong Kong, China

◎Category: Drama/History/War

◎Language: Mandarin

◎Subtitles: Simplified Chinese

◎IMDB Rating: 8.0/10 241 votes

◎File Format: XviD + AC3

◎Video Size: 640 x 288

◎File Size: 2CD

◎Duration: 130 mins

◎Director: Chuan Lu

◎Cast: Ye Liu ... Jianxiong Lu

Yuanyuan Gao ... Shuyun Jiang

Hideo Nakaizumi ... Kadokawa

Wei Fan ... Tang Tianxiang Mr. Tang

Lan Qin ... Tang Zhou's wife

Yiyan Jiang ... Xiangjun Jiang

Fanlong Mu

Di Yao ... Little Sister

Yihui Zhao

John Paisley ... John Rabe

Jun Wei Feng

Ryu Kohata ... Ida

Zhuangzhuang Tian

◎Introduction

Plot:

"Nanjing, Nanjing" tells its story against the backdrop of "The Nanjing Massacre." The film has two plotlines that intertwine, depicting the experiences of an ordinary Japanese soldier and an ordinary Chinese soldier during the massacre. It reveals how the疯狂 slaughter, rape, and plunder in Nanjing in 1937 devastated humanity.

The film begins with the fall of Nanjing in December 1937. Despite many Nationalist soldiers fleeing the city, a large number chose to stay behind and fight a hopeless and brutal resistance on the streets and alleys of the city. Jianxiong Lu (played by Ye Liu) was one of these soldiers, belonging to the elite forces of the Nationalists.

After the resistance ultimately failed, and after the blood of hundreds of thousands of Chinese dyed the Yangtze River red, the entire city of Nanjing became a dead land. The only place with any semblance of life left was the "Safety Zone" at Jinling Women's College. Here, due to John Rabe's Nazi identity, a large number of refugees temporarily found refuge. However, the actual work of managing the refugees in the safety zone was carried out by Rabe's secretary, Mr. Tang (played by Wei Fan), and the returned female teacher, Shuyun Jiang (played by Yuanyuan Gao).

However, in the eyes of the Japanese army, the so-called "Safety Zone" was merely a "warehouse" full of women. And Rabe's German identity, in the face of the powerful Japanese army, was nothing more than a piece of cloth that could be easily removed. The Chinese women used their bodies not only to save the men hidden in the refugee camp but also wrote a chapter of resilience in front of Rabe.

A significant breakthrough in this movie is the portrayal of Japanese soldiers. As occupiers, they could lead a relatively normal life. But in Nanjing, where war factors were extremely amplified, even the occupiers could not escape the soul-shaking or questioning that came from witnessing others' humiliation and death.

Kadokawa (played by Hideo Nakaizumi) was an ordinary soldier in the Japanese Sixteenth Division. Known by his teammates as someone "who has read books," he was sensitive, naive, and hadn't even had a girlfriend before participating in the war. His fellow townsman Captain Idai (played by Fanlong Mu), however, was already a veteran, a professional soldier. During their time as occupiers in Nanjing, they experienced the human costs required to maintain such a "life." Kadokawa eventually made his choice: he helped two Chinese survivors escape from Nanjing and then committed suicide.

This movie completely breaks away from the deliberate erasure of Chinese existence in previous historical works and literary pieces about the Nanjing tragedy, as well as the erroneous depiction of "inept Chinese." It provides a new perspective for global audiences to understand this history and rewrites the national image of the Chinese during the Nanjing disaster. It offers a fresh historical reflection on this painful period in Chinese history.

Main Characters:

- Jianxiong Lu (played by Ye Liu): A Nationalist officer who stayed behind in Nanjing and sacrificed heroically after the Japanese occupation.

- Shuyun Jiang (played by Yuanyuan Gao): A returning female teacher who bravely took on the responsibility of saving others despite her frail body, ultimately dying under Japanese gunfire.

- Mr. Tang (played by Wei Fan): Secretary to John Rabe. From initially being self-preserving and fearing death, he eventually stood up and sacrificed himself heroically, completing a spiritual rebirth.

- Kadokawa (played by Hideo Nakaizumi): Invading Japanese soldier who gradually broke down during the war and eventually met destruction.

Behind-the-scenes Production:

Massive and Realistic Scenes

Lu Chuan revealed that in "Nanjing! Nanjing!" there are many grand scenes involving tens of thousands of people, such as the battle of defending Nanjing and the scene showing the massacre of 40,000 people. "I hope to create a truly impressive Chinese war disaster movie, and all costumes and props must be realistic, with every item having a verifiable source." It's reported that filming will take place in several locations including Nanjing, Tianjin, and Sichuan. To realistically recreate the tragic scenes of 1937 in Nanjing, the production team will rebuild the old city of Nanjing in Sichuan, covering an area of 1,500 acres, including the old city walls, moat, Presidential Palace, streets, and all other scenic spots needed for filming.

Director Lu Chuan on Mr. Tang: Prepared to Die Amidst Despair

Mr. Tang studied abroad early in his life and spoke both English and Japanese fluently. He worked as a steward in Rabe's home, appearing refined. Although his hair was somewhat thinning, it was meticulously combed and tightly tucked. He sported sparse facial hair and wore slightly small glasses with thicker lenses. His cheeks were gaunt, and his complexion appeared sallow. Even while doing a bit of business, he still dressed in traditional style, wearing long robes and a hat. His financial situation wasn't affluent; when wealthy families fled inland with their families, he could only remain, hoping that Nanjing would hold out. After the fall, he entered the safety zone with his entire family.

Witnessing the atrocities committed by the Japanese upon entering the city, unable to protect his wife and daughter as a common civilian, he became dispirited and appeared much weaker. His once neatly combed hair now hung loosely, a strand drooping over his forehead. His robe was wrinkled.

Seeing his beloved daughter thrown out by the Japanese, he screamed uncontrollably until he lost his voice, his bruised and swollen face becoming unrecognizable, his neck seemingly near breaking, his clothes soaked in blood, losing their original color.

Refusing to leave with Rabe, his head wrapped in bandages covered with dust, blood seeping through continuously, the wound's bandage turned dark brown and hardened. One side of his face was bruised and scratched. With little hope left for his family, Mr. Tang prepared himself for death.

Director Lu Chuan on Mrs. Tang: The Sole Glimmer of Gentleness

Mrs. Tang, without even her own name, this petite and beautiful Shanghai woman remembered to collect her husband's salary on time each month and never forgot to wear a beautiful headscarf while cleaning. This meticulous and kind woman might have never imagined that the fall of Nanjing would plunge her carefully nurtured family into a dark abyss... She was the sole glimmer of gentleness amidst the somber atmosphere in Nanjing, symbolizing the continuation of life. When she clutched the iron fence with both hands for the last time, looking at her husband, she tried hard to suppress her tears and told herself to be strong.

Trivia:

- An 86-year-old former Japanese invader donated multiple artifacts, including Japanese military uniforms, swords, and water flasks, to the "Nanjing! Nanjing!" crew.

- The production encountered a "script leak" incident —— a 600-word script excerpt was posted online by a netizen. This excerpt exposed the opening content of the film, describing a dialogue between two Japanese soldiers, Kadokawa and Idai, aboard a Japanese warship. The production company stated that the leaked script was just a rough draft.

- Before deciding to make "Nanjing!", Lu Chuan sought advice from many master filmmakers. Wu Yusen suggested waiting another ten years to shoot such a topic, believing it would allow for greater accumulation. However, Luc Besson convinced Lu Chuan to quickly make the decision. Luc Besson told him that "Nanjing!" was the main course that had to be shot first, while other projects were mere desserts. In June 2006, Lu Chuan enjoyed a four-hour lunch with his idol, Luc Besson. Although Luc Besson later publicly expressed to Chinese media his desire to serve as executive producer for "Nanjing! Nanjing!", the final credits did not include his name.

- The title "Nanjing! Nanjing!" is actually a military command, similar to the "Tora! Tora! Tora!" used by Japanese forces during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. It was the order given by the Japanese invading forces' command center to attack Nanjing.

- When the "Nanjing!" crew grew to fifty or sixty people, they learned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had rejected the script. Among several films being produced on the same subject matter, only "Nanjing Holocaust" received approval.

- The prototype for Little Bean was a child soldier named Ji Wanfang, the youngest soldier captured by the Japanese, who was ultimately killed.

- To select suitable actors for the six main roles, Lu Chuan and his team used a voting system among numerous candidates, with Lu Chuan holding the final veto power.

- Originally, a rape scene was designed for Shuyun Jiang, played by Yuanyuan Gao. However, during filming, Gao broke down and shouted at Lu Chuan, "How can you shoot it like this?" Lu Chuan couldn't convince her. He admitted that this was the most regrettable part, as the scene was crucial and otherwise, the film would have been very different.

- Most of the Japanese actors in the crew were Japanese students studying in China, except for three who were visiting China for the first time and didn't speak any Chinese.

- Hideo Nakaizumi was selected after Lu Chuan reviewed over 200 Japanese actors. After filming "Nanjing!", Nakaizumi moved his entire family from Japan to settle in China. However, during the promotional tour, he faced significant psychological pressure. In Hangzhou, when he stepped on stage, some audience members shouted "Bakayarou!" causing Nakaizumi to cry on the spot. Lu Chuan's assistant revealed that "Nakaizumi was always worried that his family might be harmed because of his participation in this film."

- The drum used in the Japanese military ceremony was a replica made in Henan. If ordered from Japan, it would have cost tens of thousands of yuan. During filming, the two Japanese drummers initially thought the drum skin was too soft and the sound incorrect, so they used lights to heat the drum for two hours until the skin tightened, solving the problem.

- For the gunshots in the film, the creators spent a year conducting detailed research, setting up a "sound laboratory" —— shooting on a firing range with prop guns, recording the sounds, and then matching them to the film.

- Surprisingly, during the review process, there were no requests for extensive cuts. After Lu Chuan showed the initial cut to Wang Shuo, Wang provided some suggestions that led Lu to cut another 12 minutes. Thus, the current public version is 25 minutes shorter than the submitted version.

- During the filming of the priest scene, a Japanese drummer, dissatisfied with a Chinese extra laughing during such a solemn scene, punched him. The Chinese extras were martial arts school students who immediately surrounded the drummer, but fortunately, the staff intervened in time, preventing a potential brawl.

- During the filming of the rape scene, the Japanese actors hesitated to touch the actresses' bodies. Lu Chuan explained that if they didn't act genuinely, the actresses would have to remain undressed longer. He instructed them on where to place their hands, and as soon as the scene ended and he shouted "Cut!", the Japanese actors immediately stopped, covered the actresses with clothes, and bowed to them.

- In one scene, after Idai killed Tang Xiaomei and walked onto the street, someone suddenly shouted, "I want to go back to Japan!" This was not in the script but was spontaneously acted by the Japanese actor Xiaohei. Then Idai approached and struck him with a fierce punch, causing Xiaohei's face to swell that evening.