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Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre [R1] |
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Written by Eric P
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Tuesday, 14 March 2006 |
Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre
A Review by Eric_P
AKA: Hei tai yang Nan Jing da tu sha
R1, NTSC, USA
1995, Uncut, Unrated, 95 Minutes
Anamorphic Widescreen 1:77:1
Publisher: Unearthed Films
This review is sponsored by Xploited Cinema:
The Movie
World War 2 was the largest, most horrific conflict in modern world history, a massive struggle for freedom against ruthless, evil forces of oppression. Some of the worst crimes against humanity occurred during the war. We all know about the Holocaust, where the Nazis attempted to exterminate all of Europe's Jews - and nearly succeeded.
But that wasn't the only holocaust that took place during World War 2. Another holocaust happened, one that history has pretty much forgotten: The Nanking Massacre. In 1936, Japan invaded China in the first aggressive act of World War 2, defeating Manchuria and establishing an occupation government. From there, the Japanese army blazed into Nanking, which had been China's capital for centuries.
In 1937, after the Chinese military was defeated in Nanking, the Japanese were faced with a problem. They were vastly outnumbered by Chinese civilians, and the growing resistance movement could result in an embarassing defeat for Japan. So, the Japanese commanding officers at Nanking began a campaign of terror against Chinese civilians, the idea being to frighten and demoralize them into obedience.
The Japanese Emperor had already issued an edict exempting Japanese soldiers from the traditional laws of warfare, giving them carte blanche to do whatever it took to acheive Japan's plans for world conquest. So, in Nanking, Japanese commanders had their soldiers subject the Chinese people to endless monstrous acts of rape, torture, and mass murder.
In 1946, the Allies put some of the surviving Japanese commanders and soldiers of Nanking on trial before the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. They were convicted of and either imprisoned or executed for exterminating over 300,000 Chinese men, women, and children. The Japanese government refused to recognize the commanders' guilt, calling the Nanking Massacre a lie. It would take over 40 years for the Japanese government to finally admit that the atrocities took place. Meanwhile, the world's memory of Nanking faded away, and the massacre was just a footnote in the history books.
Until now. Hong Kong director T.M. Mou, who had previously explored Japanese war atrocities against the Chinese in his movie Men Behind The Sun, has created Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre, a horrifying, visceral film that accurately depicts Japan's holocaust against the Chinese people. It may well be the most brutal Chinese movie ever made. And now, thanks to Unearthed Films, Black Sun has finally made its DVD debut, complete and uncut.
The movie is basically a series of scenes recreating Japan's defeat of Nanking and decision to terrorize the Chinese, connected by the fictional story of one Chinese family torn apart by the massacre. After the defeat of the Chinese military, there is an eerie calm in Nanking. We meet a little boy and girl and their family at home. The grandmother thanks Buddha for sparing them. Little do they know what's about to happen...
The Japanese commanders order their soldiers to terrorize Chinese civilians as a means of controlling the masses - an order the soldiers accept without concern or remorse. And the atrocities begin. First, civilians are rounded up and ordered to wear identification patches on their clothes. Chinese are shot for the least infraction. Our little boy and girl and their parents are among the civilians. After seeing their parents brutally murdered by soldiers, the children escape with their uncle. They are soon separated from him and try to survive and locate their other family members.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Chinese men, women, and children are mowed down daily with machine guns. A Japanese General tests the sharpness of his new sword by having his men round up a few Chinese for him to behead. A soldier stabs a pregnant woman in the belly with his bayonet, then rips out the bloody fetus from her womb. Women are raped and tortured at random, as all Chinese women have been declared to be "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers. A man is forced to rape a woman, then the soldiers castrate him. A man refuses to bow to the Japanese, so he is doused with gasoline and set on fire. Japanese soldiers invade a woman's home. While one of them rapes her, another tosses her baby into a rice steamer filled with boiling water. Beaches are littered with thousands of Chinese corpses and turned into giant improvised crematoriums.
Meanwhile, in a series of meetings, the Japanese commanders discuss the atrocities. One of them acts as the voice of reason, arguing that rape and murder is dishonorable and no way for Japanese soldiers to win a war for their country. But he is overruled by the General, whose cold logic dictates that terror is the only way to control the masses of civilians that vastly outnumber the Japanese soldiers.
Director Mou adds to the horrific realism by editing in real footage of the victims of Nanking, taken from newsreels. Mou's atrocity scenes end in a freeze frame that dissolves into an old still photograph of an actual Nanking atrocity. Absoulely no punches are pulled. In the film's horrific climax, the little boy and girl find their grandmother, but their joy is short-lived. Japanese soldiers invade the grandmother's home, grab the little girl, tear at her clothes, and try to gang rape her. Grandma tells the little boy to flee, which he does. Then she sets her home and the Japanese soldiers on fire. The little girl escapes their grasp. She and her grandmother die in each other's arms.
As we see the little boy run down a street, the film dissolves into a montage of newsreel footage of actual Nanking atrocities, scored to a child singing the Christmas carol Silent Night in Chinese.
Here are a few stills:
Tech Specs
Video
Black Sun is presented in its original 1:77:1 widescreen aspect ratio, in a stunning anamorphic transfer. The print is nearly pristine, save for a wee bit of grain here and a nick or two there. It's mosty clean and clear.
Audio
The original Cantonese language track has been remastered in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, and sounds great. English subtitles are provided. You can only turn them off with your remote's Subtitle button.
Special Features
Why We Fight: The Battle Of China - Sixth in the series of seven famous 1944 military educational films produced by legendary director Frank Capra for the Morale Services division, this 63 minute film is packed with rare footage of the conflict between Japan and China, including footage of the atrocities at Nanking. (Note: All the Why We Fight films are available in a DVD boxed set.)
T.F. Mou Interviews - two comprehensive written interviews with the director that will have you scrolling through a total of 50 screens.
History Of The Nanking Massacre - a detailed written article on the Nanking Massacre that will have you scrolling through 24 screens.
Nanking Virtual Map - an interactive, virtual onscreen map of Nanking. Click on any highlighted area of the map and a screen will pop up with information on what happened in that area during the Nanking Massacre.
Photo Gallery - a collection of production stills from Black Sun.
Trailers - trailers for three other Unearthed Films DVD releases: Junk, Evil Dead Trap 2, and Boy Meets Girl.
The Report Card
Movie: A
Video: A
Audio: A
Special Features: A
The Last Word
Black Sun is a horror film in every true sense of the word, a visceral, no-holds-barred document of World War 2's forgotten holocaust. While not on as large a scale as the Nazi Holocaust against 6 million of Europe's Jews, Japan's holocaust against over 300,000 Chinese was just as horrible in terms of unbridled cruelty and evil. Black Sun is a must-see film, but you'll probably never want to see it again. You will never forget it, either. Unearthed Films has provided the film a first-rate DVD release. Well worth a purchase!
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 23 December 2007 )
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