features

China's Zhang says Bale to star in Nanjing project

94 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

94 Comments
Login to comment

Bale's no stranger to movies involving Japanese occupation. He was pretty good in "Empire Of The Sun," although he was only 12 or so.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I wonder if this one will make it to Japanese cinemas. Will cinemas receive threats from ultra-nationalists not to show it like what happened with The Cove?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Still have to keep rubbing that into Japan's face, do we? I guess China is still very embarrassed that the little country to the east could overrun China, commiting barbarities of all kinds. That is, the Chinese couldn't protect their own women. That is embarassing. I still do not understand why they single out Japan, and say nothing about the 100 years of humiliation brought about by the Europeans who took over China and treated them with just as much disdain as the Japanese. Not one Chinese woman was ever sexually used by the civilized European conquerers? This is why, even acknowledging that the Japanese did barbaric things in China, it all seems hypocritical.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Shinjukuboy:

Yes, the Europeans were no saints, I'm sure. But can you please tell me, did they do anything that was more vile and inhumane than experimenting, dissecting and bayoneting people who were still alive, ripping fetuses from women, raping women and girls, subjecting the mass public to diseases on purpose? Distain? Oh please!

I have absolutely nothing against the Japanese of today (with the exception of right-wing scum who refuse, in public, to admit to these LARGE-scale atrocities), but you cannot deny history. You can't deflect attention by saying 'oh, but other nations were a bit naughty too'.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Pukey2 at 07:58 AM JST - 24th December "Yes, the Europeans were no saints, I'm sure. But can you please tell me, did they do anything that was more vile and inhumane than experimenting, dissecting and bayoneting people who were still alive, ripping fetuses from women, raping women and girls, subjecting the mass public to diseases on purpose? Distain? Oh please!"

The problem here is that the "massacre" moved from killing to rape to just about every imaginable atrocity one could come up with although there is little hard evidence to suppport something as simple as the actual number of civilian deaths. Unfortunately a great many "Nanjingers" take evrry acusation as proven fact. For example, yes biolgical experiments were done by the Japanese Army (Unit 731) however that unit wasn't even formed until well after Nanjing. Then there is the head chopping competition. Horrible for sure, if true. But the Manchus beheaded an estimnated 2,000,000 Chinese men for simply refusing to wear pigtails. What is noticable about Nanjingers is that every other horrible thing that has happened to the Chinese whether at the hands of foreigners or other Chinese, right down to the current CCP, despite the obscene numbers involved seem to entirely ignored for the sake of demonizing the Japanese.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

hokkaido; there were terrible things doen to Chinese by Europeans but to say it is teh same as Japan shows deceit or ignorance. Just check thed eatsh in China by the Japanese and then say the same thing.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ossanamerica:

I'll say it again: You can't deflect attention by saying 'oh, but other nations were a bit naughty too'.

Horrible for sure, if true.

It was in the Japanese newspapers - the killers were bragging about chopping as many heads as possible! The Chinese don't call the Japanese daikon for nothing.

Hokkaidoguy:

You'd rather be experimented on alive than take opium?! Isn't it possible to recover from opium addiction, somehow?

They've got Hong Kong back, so we no longer wonder why it was "ours" in the first place.

Yes, and HK did well post-war. It's a shame Ryukyu hasn't been given back. I doubt Manchukuo would have been given back had Japan won the war.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Isn't it possible to recover from opium addiction, somehow?

The only cure for China's opium addiction was Mao's cultural revolution. That's not hyperbole, that's what it took. Going from some of the responses here, seems there's a bit of denial about the scope of what the west did to China..

Moderator: All readers, stay on topic please. Posts that do not focus on the Zhang's film will be removed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope the film doesn't make the western audience feel bitter about the Japanese for making little impact on the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to China. If they do, I'll tell them that if it were for these small massacres there'd be more jobs lost in the OECD!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Call me cynical, but I can't see any good coming out of this, just because people are too ignorant to talk rationally about it now, let alone a movie made about it. Whether or not it will be downplayed or overexaggerated, the point is that it still HAPPENED, and these things need to be acknowledged. Japan did some terrible things, that is a fact. However, I'm not about to stand up and say Japan is horrible and evil, and one hopes that people who watch the film won't come to the same conclusion. One hopes it will be more informative than inflammatory. A picture of a dark time in history, something we never want to have repeated again. Just like when watching films about the Holocaust, one HOPES people don't assume all Germans are murdering racists.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Folks, the movie is not about how " evil ' the japanese are. It's about what militarism can do to a fine " civilised ' society. Make excuses for all you want, just do not forget atrocities were committed against humanity. By remembering what happened, such crime against humanity ( hopefully ) will not happen again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

oberst-- Exactly.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Still have to keep rubbing that into Japan's face, do we?"

Some people need to get over themselves and stop trying to wildly deflect from the issue. The man wants to make a movie on this topic, and since it's still relatively 'recent' history (compared to what you and Ossan bring up in an effort to deflect), people have been affected by it are still alive, and it's still a subject that brings about a lot of intense and complicated feelings. If someone wanted to make another movie about the atomic bombings and how tragic and wrong they were, I doubt (aside from possibly some Americans denying it was wrong) you'd hear some of the moaning and excuses or "this again?" you post.

As for the movie in question, I'm not really sure you can call Bale 'versatile'. I like him, and he's done some impressive roles, but versatile?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

oww... i dont think i can watch this movie... i read the story about this massacre and it literally made me sick for a week on how cruel the incident was... when i saw the news it made me remember what i read and it makes me sick

0 ( +0 / -0 )

smithinjapan at 11:19 AM JST - 24th December Some people need to get over themselves and stop trying to wildly >deflect from the issue. The man wants to make a movie on this topic, and >since it's still relatively 'recent' history (compared to what you and >Ossan bring up in an effort to deflect), people have been affected by it >are still alive, and it's still a subject that brings about a lot of >intense and complicated feelings. If someone wanted to make another >movie about the atomic bombings and how tragic and wrong they were, I >doubt (aside from possibly some Americans denying it was wrong) you'd >hear some of the moaning and excuses or "this again?" you post.

No, you're wrong. I'd be saying "this again" about an A-bomb movie as well. And I think it was wrong. Necessary, but wrong. The fact is that regardless of the real historical facts and issues surrounding Nanjing, movies about it are made entirely to the Chinese viewpoint. To that I say "this again?" I would like to see a Nanjing film that was actually objective, but of course any Chinese director who made such a film would be censured by his government.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ossan, i would love to see the japanese movie version on the " china Incident ". Do you believe some people in japan still cannot bring themselves to call that " war " ??

0 ( +0 / -0 )

shinjukuboy

Still have to keep rubbing that into Japan's face, do we? I guess China is still very embarrassed that the little country to the east could overrun China, commiting barbarities of all kinds. That is, the Chinese couldn't protect their own women. That is embarassing. I still do not understand why they single out Japan, and say nothing about the 100 years of humiliation brought about by the Europeans who took over China and treated them with just as much disdain as the Japanese. Not one Chinese woman was ever sexually used by the civilized European conquerers? This is why, even acknowledging that the Japanese did barbaric things in China, it all seems hypocritical.

how pathetic. isint it japan who is doing the rubbing on faces? japan still denies and whitewash their atrocities in text books. they still worship their war criminals in shrines. they still drive around in black vans trying to convince everyone that the babaric invasions of china and the rest of asia is justified. imagine how china feels about this. and yet you dare to be angry over a movie? arent you the one who should be feeling both ashamed and embarassed?

Moderator: Please keep the discussion focused on the movie.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmerica

I would like to see a Nanjing film that was actually objective, but of course any Chinese director who made such a film would be censured by his government.

then i suggest you go watch the 'City of Life and Death' which is actually very objective and convincing. the film not only focuses on the chinese viewpoint of the massacre, but also from the viewpoint of a japanese soldier. matter of fact, the potrayal of the japanese was way too kind in the film. go watch it. its a great film, although depressing and hard to watch. unfortunately, last i checked, its banned in japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

shinjukuboy

I guess China is still very embarrassed that the little country to the east could overrun China, commiting barbarities of all kinds. That is, the Chinese couldn't protect their own women. That is embarassing.

what is more embarassing and shameful than the japanese who waged an unprovoked war against china, caused the deaths of 20 million chinese, and then never honestly apologized for it? THAT is embarassing. what you gonna say next? the jews should be at fault for being vulnerable to nazi aggression? the people of hiroshima and nagasaki should be at fault for being vulnerable to the atomic bombs? your attempt to shift the blame onto the victims if both disgraceful and embarassing.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

unfortunately, last i checked, its banned in japan.

Prove it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It is too bad that Zhang Yimou who made excellent movies like Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qian li zou dan qi) would sink to this level. If you haven't seen Qian li zou dan qi, it is almost entirely in Japanese and it stars Ken Takakura. Not sure why Zhang would not try to hurt Sino-Japanese relations by bringing a fictionalized account of a horrible past to life. Just let it rest already!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

hokkaidoguy

Prove it.

i said "last i checked". it may have been banned or it may be just that noone in japan is willing to distribute the film like germany's 'john rabe'. i dunno. so correct me if im wrong.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

i said "last i checked". it may have been banned or it may be just that noone in japan is willing to distribute the film like germany's 'john rabe'. i dunno. so correct me if im wrong.

No, you said "last I checked, IT IS BANNED IN JAPAN", implying that the government (as the only ones capable of issuing a ban on a film) have chosen to do so - which is an outright falsehood of your own design.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yan Geling - Is this the same as Geling Yan who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the PLA in Tibet. She could write a novella about how her brave comrades defended themselves against an attack by Tibet refugees. Maybe she was the one who shot the Tibetan nun. There are some videos on youtube about this but I am sure Zhang Yimou could make a better video.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When Zhang makes his movie about Nanjing, he should include some serious content about why China had become so weak that it could first be taken over by westerners and then get onverrun by Japanese, leading to the Rape of Nanjing. Among these Japanese are the true believers who really thought they had to rid China and Asia of the westerners, whose next target was Japan. And among these Japanese, there were ones on a blood-lust rampage to barbarically kill or mutilate as many Chinese as they could. Behind them were the industrialists in Tokyo who wanted Chinese resources for Japanese industry. And there were Japanese Marxists and Christians who were abhorred by the war (many jailed for opposing the war). There were many players in a complex situation. Can/will Zhang show this complexity? Can any movie show such complexity?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan never had to fess up to the war crimes because the USA halted the Japan war crimes tribunal - for a variety of reasons - but one of the major reasons was their terror of communist China. The USA felt that it was better to kiss and make up quickly with Japan so they'd have a buffer to China. So Japan never had to face its wartime atrocities - hence that sore will never heal because Japan won't fess up and China will keep picking at the scab.

Meanwhile - despite the nationalist backlash - we all try to get along with each other as just people. The fact is many Japanese live in China and many Chinese live in Japan. It is both nations and both peoples interest to resolve this issue to mutual satisfaction and benefit so everyone can move forwards without this luggage always burning in the background.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@seaforte03 Remember the Communists were quick to put the problem of Japanese guilt behind them, too. Mao Tse Tung said the Japanese suffered under the military just like the Chinese, and left it at that. Zhou Enlai, who had studied in Japan as a youth, ensured smooth release of Japanese prisoners and civilians back to Japan, much to the dissapointment of some Chinese who wanted something more punitive.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I was not going to comment on this topic but a couple of comments here have really annoyed me. Firstly Shinjukuboy, you have got to be kidding me. No one is rubbing anything in japans face. Japan has NEVER come to grips with the fact that it started a war of aggression, committed many many crimes, massacres, and attrocities. This film maker wants to make a film about a significant piece of Chinese history. After all in excess of 200000 people where killed and tens of thousands raped. I think you are a joke as a human to suggest that its China's fault because they where weak. Your sort of attitude is what got you into the war and ultimately defeated. Its time you learnt from the past and stopped you denial and blame shifting.

Moderator. I agree that this needs to be shifted back onto topic however you only seem to be warning the people responding to these rediculous inflamitory statements. Its them that should be removed

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@AdamB Please read my posts.

I acknowldeged the rape of Nanjing I acknowledged the barbarity of at least some Japanese soldiers in China (I don't know about ALL of them). I acknowledged Zhang has the right to make the movie (and maybe even a duty to be sure it is not forgotten). The questions I ask are honest ones. Will his movie just degenerate into an anti-Japanese movie, or will it deal with the situation in all its complexity, including an honest look at what made all of this possible, that is, why China became so weak as to be unable to prevent some Japanese soldiers on a blood-lust rampage from doing this. There is not such a vacuum of information about the war here as you seem to think.
0 ( +0 / -0 )

I too hope that the movie is a honest and fair representation of facts and isnt just an anti Japan movie. I think that serves no purpose to anyone. I will ask you one question though why as the vanquished is it China's responsibility to prevent Japanese from im your words being on a "blood-lust rampage" surely as the victor it was the Japanese that were then responsible for their actions. To me and l may be wrong you statement is akin to blaming a rape victim for not being strong enough to fight off her attacker. As for the information vacuum you may be right but im still to be convinced. Anyway lets hope the movie turns out to be fair and factual to all

0 ( +0 / -0 )

More Chinese propaganda.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The odds of this movie not ending up as one sided propaganda are slim...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

an honest look at what made all of this possible, that is, why China became so weak as to be unable to prevent some Japanese soldiers on a blood-lust rampage

Japan actually prefers a weak and docile China, otherwise the Japanese media wouldn't be trembling about the 'Chinese military threat' while China is building up her military to prevent history from repeating itself.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

History repeating itself.... Hmm, so china will splinter under weak central leadership and be invaded from central Asia?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@AdamB It is the responsibility of any government to protect their citizens. For most of human civilication, China was the wealthiest and most advanced country. But China became debilitated and couldn't fulfill this responsibility (like the US and 9/11), leading to Nanjing. It is well known that to save their status, many Chinese elite collaborated with Europeans and even the Japanese. I say again: it was a complicated situation with lots of players and lots of motives. How will this be refracted through the mind of Zhang when he puts these events on screen, seen through the eyes of an American priest and the female victims he saves?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"A lot of young people in Western countries might not know about it,"

That's likely. They may even ignore what Gengis Khan and Godzilla did, they may even wonder where China and Japan are...

OTOH, Zhang doesn't find it a problem that most young Chinese living now ignore their own country's slaughters and abuses in recent years or even recent days. Maybe Zhang will get a Nobel Prize of something and his compatriots will never know it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes it is the responsibility for governtment to protect its citizens however when one country conquers another for whatever reason it is their responsibilty to ensure the safety of those civilians. This is the case here the victor should have ensured the safety and acted like civilised people.... I dont think the intent of the movie is to tell the history of the whole conflict from start to end rather the story of one person (the priest). As such the other issues become by issues to the storyline. After all it is just a movie at the end of the day and we dont go to the movies to get our historical facts

0 ( +0 / -0 )

shinjukuboy

@AdamB It is the responsibility of any government to protect their citizens. For most of human civilication, China was the wealthiest and most advanced country. But China became debilitated and couldn't fulfill this responsibility (like the US and 9/11), leading to Nanjing.

so then in 1937, japan fabricated an incident in order to provide a pretext for the invasion of china. china was already in the middle of civil war at the time and japan saw this as an opportunity to invade the country. that is how badly japan wanted to invade china. it is not china's fault. it is not america's fault. it is japan's fault with their messed up ideas of conquering asia.

It is well known that to save their status, many Chinese elite collaborated with Europeans and even the Japanese. I say again: it was a complicated situation with lots of players and lots of motives. How will this be refracted through the mind of Zhang when he puts these events on screen, seen through the eyes of an American priest and the female victims he saves?

the film is about the victims and heroes of the nanking massacre. not about how the whole damn war started.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Zhang doesn't seem to echo your sentiments about facts and movies.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Well said Ravagesoftimes

0 ( +0 / -0 )

aj2o1

Japan actually prefers a weak and docile China, otherwise the Japanese media wouldn't be trembling about the 'Chinese military threat' while China is building up her military to prevent history from repeating itself.

yea. funny how japan tried to conquer china twice in history when they had a developed military. now that its china who is the top military power in asia, japan suddenly plays the victims and plays the 'chinese threat'. its just so ironic and hilarious.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yep, sounds like what I expect. Hollywood uses the Nazis to set everyone's moral compass about ww2. They're evil so we needn't look at the vagaries of the war. It can all be easy to digest black and white. Sadly, imperial Japanese soldiers didn't have the sharp looking SS uniforms but they should stand in just as well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

gamera

More Chinese propaganda.

right...this is all just chinese propaganda. the japanese army were real gentlemens and never raped a single female in nanking....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Oh jeez we're going to count the warring states era invasion that didn't even get past the landing in Korea stage, too? Wasn't japan still sending tribute to the celestial throne when that was going on?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ravagesoftimes, they indeed where and it was all China's fault just ask Junnama and shinjukuboy. It seems the revised history does infact work.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Well black and white thinking surely works. Propanda films are common and this will be one. If the only way you can think is to place a person who disagrees with you into the black column so you can be white, then this film should be perfect for you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope this movie is not a propaganda as usual. Does anybody make a movie from Japanese side?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

all this talk about propoganda. You know nothing about the movie yet and should know more about Zhang Yimou. He is one of the most important film directors of the last 25 years. His big scale films of late have been naff but I challenge any one of you, of any nationality, to watch 'Not One Less' and not be moved to tears. He has been at odds with the Chinese government over his films from day one and has retained his integrity as an auteur. propoganda? ignorant comments

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yuk..an awful episode in world history and people are trying to profit from it with a fictionalized commercial venture(based on a novel)-and the target audience is young people,with Christian Bale ?? $90 mill. peed away

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Chinese suffered a double barbarities, first from Europe and then from Japan. Don't romanticise the European occupation. So what is an American priest doing in Nanjing anyway? That is cultural imperialism as China has its own great religious and philosophical traditions. The priests followed the military and the companies that hauled the wealth of China away (visit the British Museum). And they tried to infect the Chinese mind too. Will Zhang raise these questions?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

For some reason the Japanophiles and Nanking massacre apologists change the subject to Europe. It was Japanese troops that caused this massacre.

Other countries that have bad histories admit the fact and apologists are given little time unlike in Japan and on this forum. The film will probably not be shown in Japan due to pressure from right wing nutjobs who seem to do as they please and this stifles debate about Japans actions in WW2.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's pure myth that details of japan's actions in ww2 are not readily available in japan. They are.

It's pure myth that japan's textbooks don't cover japan's atrocities. They do.

A propaganda style movie coming out of china will do nothing but provide ammunition to the enemies of more open discussion on the subject.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

....its just a movie... if al gores inconvenient truth didnt change anything, i doubt this one will either.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

look forward to the movie, probably edited to protect J-folks feelings. Bale is a fine actor at least.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The film is an adaptation of a Chinese-language novel by contemporary writer Yan Geling about 13 sex workers in Nanjing who volunteered to replace university students as escorts for invading Japanese soldiers.

So it's fiction.

“So I think that perhaps by doing it this way… could let maybe 100 or 200 million young audiences watch this film and maybe then they’ll know what happened in Nanjing in 1937.”

But it's fiction.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

oberst at 12:27 PM JST - 24th December Ossan, i would love to see the japanese movie version on the " china >Incident ". Do you believe some people in japan still cannot bring >themselves to call that " war " ??

To my knowlege there never was any China incident. Are you refering to the Manchurian Incident?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ravagesoftimes at 12:39 PM JST - 24th December I would like to see a Nanjing film that was actually objective, but of >course any Chinese director who made such a film would be censured by >his government. then i suggest you go watch the 'City of Life and Death' which is >actually very objective and convincing. the film not only focuses on the >chinese viewpoint of the massacre, but also from the viewpoint of a >japanese soldier. matter of fact, the potrayal of the japanese was way >too kind in the film.

Why "way too kind"? Smacks of severe prejudice, after all not every single IJA soldier sent to China was a monster. It's a simple matter of statistics.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

To my knowlege there never was any China incident. Are you refering to the Manchurian Incident?

He's talking about "シナ事変”  The word 事変 was used by both sides because

Diplomatic correspondence between then China and Japan continued. China could not declare war because under the international protocols at that time, a nation cannot receive aid (weapons, fuel) from neutral countries (i.e. Soviets)
0 ( +0 / -0 )

Funny to look how some (or most) folks discuss what Japan did in the past against China or not, while the film provides quite a different perspective on the event--focusing on civilian struggles that were very little accounted for.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

All films in some way are fiction, but blinkered persons pick and choose what they believe.

The way these apologists work is to try and find tiny errors or things that cannot ve proved 100%, ie witness testimony yet will always accept the most right wing Japanese historians ideas as fact.

Are some of those who despise even the idea of this film as bad as Nazi sympatihisers and deniers? Yes they are and they ignore what they chose to believe and i feel sorry for them.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There are times when I think that Japan should be allowed to think it did nothing wrong. At the end of the day, this country will be sinking and what it thinks will be insignificant to the rest of the world. The far-right and people like bicultural need something cheerful to help them get through the long long winter that's approaching.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

On the basis of the factual information contained in these five questions, we are completely and totally convinced that there was no massacre in Nanking.

OK. What is your definition of "massacre," if I don't mind asking? If someone says there were no 250,000 victims (soldiers + civilians) at the time, does it lead to the conclusion that the Japanese imperial army did kill NONE of them (it means zero!)????

The fact that some folks bring up the statistics of Japan’s brutal killings in the attempts to argue that the massacre is a joke(!) clearly explains that they have very narrow understandings in the objectives of Zhang’s film. It is NOT about historical fact-finding. It focuses on the struggles of local civilians who were neglected and abandoned by the world at the time of the event. Get a clue.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wow, reading these posts reminds me of a junior high debate contest I was forced to watch.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If some place is going to be a battle field and the civilians there didn't evacuate from that place to be killed, they are just stupid. (~_~)

Do you think you can make exactly the same statement for the US air-raids on the mainland Japan and the battle of Okinawa???

0 ( +0 / -0 )

We don't learn everything in history school books. Many times the best accounts come from those who were there and lived through it. If you want a true account of what happened you need to search for those books and there are plenty of books related to the "Rape of Nanking".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

christian bale was very good in "3:10 to Yuma". i think he does well in historical, dramatic roles. he should stay away from sci-fi flicks, like "Terminator: Salvation", because he has a tendency to become Mel Gibson-esque. especially with the technical crew.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I quite enjoyed Bale in The Machinist, although he was mighty thin.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So it's fiction.

Yes, those exact people, with the exact names and faces, probably didn't exit... But it's like the movie Titanic with DiCaprio...

The actors, names, faces probably have no connection at all with what happened, but like the movie Titanic, there really was a massacre, with thousands of Japanese troops raping, pillaging and torturing, just as the movie Titanic depicts a ship named "Titanic" which sinks in the North Atlantic and causes 1200 hundred people to die.

But history tells of a story more closely resembling that of "Schindler's List," than that of Titanic, in which upwards of 300,000 Chinese were murdered by Japanese troops..

Yes, there probably was no priest that resembled Christian Bale, But Sorry to hit you with the Reality of what Japan REALLY did during WW2 and the 30+ years leading up ww2...

Sorry to break your image of Japan as some Righteous Victim of WW2, when in Fact you were a prime, if not the worst perpetrator...

Why "way too kind"? Smacks of severe prejudice, after all not every single IJA soldier sent to China was a monster. It's a simple matter of statistics.

Unbelievable.... Some people....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I really have nothing to say, except that Bale is a Brit not an American! Don't cast a Brit to play an American, unless they are willing to cast an American to play a Brit! As far as the atrocities of the Japanese soldiers during WWII, this went against everything they were taught growing up and these atrocities effected the soldiers who commited the crimes. Many committed suicide or were driven crazy. It was a horrible war and by the end everybody was ready for it to end.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think I will this movie as much as the upcoming movie based on "47 Samurai" starring Keanu Reeves and made by Americans. Which is not at all.

Nobody denies the Massacre really(except a few idiots), point of disagreement between the goverments is the number of victims/people killed. With china expecting everyone to accept theirs which are higher than any other figures from when the incident been researched by groups from all over the globe.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I really have nothing to say, except that Bale is a Brit not an American! Don't cast a Brit to play an American, unless they are willing to cast an American to play a Brit!

haha you should have stuck with nothing and gone out on top. duuuuurrrr, it's called acting. James Caan wasn't really Italian eh....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

mindovermatter at 10:00 AM JST - 26th December "Why "way too kind"? Smacks of severe prejudice, after all not every single IJA soldier sent to China was a monster. It's a simple matter of statistics."

Unbelievable.... Some people....

Objectivity is unbelievable to you? Do you seriously think that every single IJA soldier was a monster? If so the population of China after 1937 sould have been reduced by 80%-90%. Or do you believe that Japanese soldiers were all 100% the same and no individual soldiers may have disagreed with what was going on? This is similar to the notion that every every German soldier in WWII was a devout Jew-killing Nazi, something that simply isn't fact and merely reflects the worst of absolutism amd prejudice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmerica

Objectivity is unbelievable to you? Do you seriously think that every single IJA soldier was a monster?

i can bet that atleast 80% of the soldiers were monsters.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ravagesoftimes at 05:14 AM JST - 27th December "OssanAmerica Objectivity is unbelievable to you? Do you seriously think that every single IJA soldier was a monster?" i can bet that atleast 80% of the soldiers were monsters.

Well since you weren't there you can bet any figure you want. I can too and so can anyone else.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Do you think you can make exactly the same statement for the US air-raids on the mainland Japan and the battle of Okinawa???

Funny. Those events are rarely labeled as "massacre" and yet at the same time you ask for a definition of "masscre".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

But history tells of a story more closely resembling that of "Schindler's List," than that of Titanic, in which upwards of 300,000 Chinese were murdered by Japanese troops..

There you go with the numbers that only China claims..

Yes, there probably was no priest that resembled Christian Bale, But Sorry to hit you with the Reality of what Japan REALLY did during WW2 and the 30+ years leading up ww2...

But in REALITY, the population of Nanking during Japanese occupation INCREASED from the initial occupation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Funny. Those events are rarely labeled as "massacre" and yet at the same time you ask for a definition of "masscre".

Well, if it sounds funny that's fine. But it's not the matter of labeling and categorizing the scale of war event. I responded to an unknown poster over her/his sarcastic comments that were deleted a few days ago.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"...could let maybe 100 or 200 million young audiences watch this film and maybe then they’ll know what happened in Nanjing in 1937.”

Sure it will.

It'll also help to "trigger nationalist sentiments" which in my opinion are a spreading disease (I hate you because you are Japanese, Chinese, German, a foreign, etc.) in any country.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There have been a number of Nanjing movies that have appeared in the past years available to movie audiences in the U.S. Presumably this is part of the continuous Chinese anti-J and blame agenda. Fact is, I haven't seen a single one of them, and I don't have single friend or aquaintance whether American, Japanese or even Chinese who has seen any of them. So I really wouldn't be surprised at all if this becomes Bale's least watched movie he's ever done, at least outside of China.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope this film is a near to the truth as possible and level headed people without an agenda can come to their own decisisons.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmerica

There have been a number of Nanjing movies that have appeared in the past years available to movie audiences in the U.S. Presumably this is part of the continuous Chinese anti-J and blame agenda.

thats what happens when japan still deny their atrocities. japan dont wanna see the world be reminded about the fact that japan still hasnt shown remorse for their babaric brutal behaviour in WW2.

Fact is, I haven't seen a single one of them, and I don't have single friend or aquaintance whether American, Japanese or even Chinese who has seen any of them.

well ofcourse you dont wanna see them. right wing japanese like you will never wanna watch movies about what your brutal soldiers did to innocent civilians in nanking. i personally know many westerners who read or watch movies about the nanking massacre.

So I really wouldn't be surprised at all if this becomes Bale's least watched movie he's ever done, at least outside of China.

obviously you would hope so. but a movie made by a world-renowned chinese director and a top hollywood actor will obviously get an international release.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

stevecpfc

I hope this film is a near to the truth as possible and level headed people without an agenda can come to their own decisisons.

if this film were to be made with as much TRUTH as possible, then we will have to witness japanese soldiers going around nanking raping and kill women, buring people alive, using children for bayonet practices, and beheading civilians for fun.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ravagesoftimes at 07:10 AM JST - 29th December "OssanAmerica There have been a number of Nanjing movies that have appeared in the past years available to movie audiences in the U.S. Presumably this is part of the continuous Chinese anti-J and blame agenda."

thats what happens when japan still deny their atrocities. japan dont >wanna see the world be reminded about the fact that japan still hasnt >shown remorse for their babaric brutal behaviour in WW2.

Except that Japan doesn't deny anything. This another famous j-bashing fallacy. Another fallacy is that they've never shown remorse. According to CNN Japan has apologized at least 17 times. The first apology was made by PM Tanaka in 1972 to Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai themselves resulting in the Sino-Japanese Friendship Treaty of 1972 whicjh was reaffirmed by both nations again in 1978.

Fact is, I haven't seen a single one of them, and I don't have single >friend or aquaintance whether American, Japanese or even Chinese who has >seen any of them. So I really wouldn't be surprised at all if this becomes Bale's least >watched movie he's ever done, at least outside of China. obviously you would hope so. but a movie made by a world-renowned >chinese director and a top hollywood actor will obviously get an >international release.

No I wouldn't hope so or not hope so, it doesn't matter. And that's exactly why all the Nanjing movies to date have had little appreciation by the world outside of China. Sure it will get an international release, other Nanjing films have as well. But the movie going audience outside of China isn't interested in the subject.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Its propaganda, it's all propaganda." The Chinese want everyone to hate the Japanese.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ravagesoftimes at 07:13 AM JST - 29th December if this film were to be made with as much TRUTH as possible, then we >will have to witness japanese soldiers going around nanking raping and >kill women, buring people alive, using children for bayonet practices, >and beheading civilians for

Oh so you were there? You must be in your 80s or 90s.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

My 10yr old son knows about nanjing(granted not all the details).

Asked him how he knew about it, his reply it is on the news and also mentioned in his primary school, etc. He sez it was war and bad things happen in war.

When he was in 2nd grade for the school-play the 6th graders put on a play about the B-29 attack on Tokyo.

Except they used the local Kitajima engine factory(1st target) where a ton of kids worked and died. Great play and America, etc was never mentioned but showed a good insight of how japanese faired during the war. End of the show was a slideshow of historical images from the local library showing the B-29, etc.

Site of the factory is now a park and the railroad that connected it to Chuo-line(2 stations) is a pedestrian/walking route now.

So saying japanese are not aware is incorrect when even primary school-kids heard about it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmerica

Except that Japan doesn't deny anything. This another famous j-bashing fallacy. Another fallacy is that they've never shown remorse. According to CNN Japan has apologized at least 17 times. The first apology was made by PM Tanaka in 1972 to Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai themselves resulting in the Sino-Japanese Friendship Treaty of 1972 whicjh was reaffirmed by both nations again in 1978.

china, and also korea, wouldve took those apologies seriously if japan didnt decide to worship their war criminals in shrines, whitewash or deny their atrocities in text books, and drive around in black vans justifying ww2 invasions. china and japan wouldve been at peace by now if japan followed germany's golden example of remorse and guilt. ever heard of the german politician called willy brandt? can any japanese politician be as brave as he? do you know that in germany, denying the holocaust is a crime? my advice to japan: follow germany's example.

No I wouldn't hope so or not hope so, it doesn't matter. And that's exactly why all the Nanjing movies to date have had little appreciation by the world outside of China. Sure it will get an international release, other Nanjing films have as well. But the movie going audience outside of China isn't interested in the subject.

why would no one be "interested" in the subject? because the victims are chinese? because it happened a long time ago? it seems to be that you hope the world isint interest because japanese nationalists stil hold on to the claim that their wartime atrocities were 'fake'. let me remind you that the holocaust is the symbol of nazis atrocities in the west. and the nanking massacre is the symbol of japanese atrocities in the east.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How we all love to live in the past. We want our children to know about how humanbeings were not refined. We love to rub it in and drive it into the heads of the future generations. Honestly, couldn't this great filmmaker think of something upbuilding for the people?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

space_monkey

"Its propaganda, it's all propaganda." The Chinese want everyone to hate the Japanese.

yea its all 'propaganda' isint it? instead, why not have them portray the japanese soldiers in nanking as being great gentlemen, drinking tea with the civilians, happily dancing with everyone, and not raping a single women. that will keep the japanese nationalists happy and satisfied.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmerica, you said you wanted a nanking film to be objective. thats why i suggest you watch 'City of Life and Death'. great film. its not an anti-japanese film. its just showing the horror as it was.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ravagesoftimes at 10:04 AM JST - 29th December china, and also korea, wouldve took those apologies seriously

THey did. China received an apology and signed a treaty with Japan in 1972. South Korea did the same in 1965. Are you suggesting that these two countries didn't act in good faith?

if japan didnt decide to worship their war criminals in shrines,

They don't. The shrine honors over 2 and a half million dead out of which 14 are Callass A war criminals. And people go there to pray for peace not to "worship" anything.

whitewash or deny their atrocities in text books,

Japanese textbooks do not "whiteweash" or deny anything. They clearly state that Japan was the aggressor in WWII and brought suffering to many Asian nations.

and drive around in black vans justifying ww2 invasions.

You are using the right wing, a insignificant minority to represent all of Japan. That's just plain stupid. Even the flag burning anti-japan Chinese demonstrators don't represent all of China.

china and japan wouldve been at peace by now

Technically they are although hate mongers are hard at work to destroy that.

if japan followed germany's >golden example of remorse and guilt. ever >heard of the german politician called willy brandt? can any japanese >politician be as brave as he? do you know that in germany, denying the >holocaust is a crime? my advice to japan: follow germany's example.

Another fallacy often repeated by J-haters is this comparison to Germany which is absurd because the circumstances both geographically and politically are entirely different. Germany doesn't have a huge communist nuclear armed dicatorship as an immediate neighbor. My advice to you, forget Germany. They still have neo-nazi groups there.

why would no one be "interested" in the subject? because the victims are >chinese? because it happened a long time ago?

Because it's ancient history for most people today. Furthermore while our nations fought a vicious war for four years then ended with the start of the cold war and China has been on the "other side" since it ousted the KMT to Taiwan. Taiwan, which we support militarily. Japan has been a US ally now for over 50 years and China is still our strategic adversary in Asia. China today is a dictatorship theatening it;s asian neighbors and challemging the United States. Many of us do see alot of Chinese harping on WWII as being potentially propaganda.

it seems to be that you hope the world isint interest because japanese >nationalists stil hold on to the claim that their wartime atrocities >were 'fake'.

You need to stop this bad habit of declaring what I hope for nor not hope for. I've already made it clear that it doesn't matter. I don';t hope for anything I'm just telling you the facts, nobody cares. There's much more going on in today's world and ironically that includes China's conduct and behavior.

let me remind you that the holocaust is the symbol of nazis atrocities >in the west. and the nanking massacre is the symbol of japanese >atrocities in the east.

Only to China. But I syppose that's fair. After all how many Chinese care about the Nazi atrocities in Europe?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Honestly, couldn't this great filmmaker think of something upbuilding for the people?

Perhaps, you might want to ask the same question to Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg, since they also made WWII films.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Bale as an American priest? Methodist?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"...every Chinese wants everyone to hate Japanese..." well same is true for Japanese, and I guess it will never end. I do know the Japanese have apologised for the atrocities committed back then. But in my opinion, such a movie would shed more (needed) light on what really and actually happened, and pay more tribute to the victims never really recognised. I think the Japanese should know more about such history, so many are ignorant about this, pearl harbor etc... It would change a lot of things especially public opinion!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites