GFF 2010: City of Life and Death

 

Not since Elem Klimov's Come and See (1985) has a film captured the atrocities of war in such a vivid, powerful fashion. City of Life and Death documents the appalling events of the Nanking massacre, when hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were murdered by Japanese forces. Lu Chuan devotes the first half of his film to the invasion, and the second half to the occupation. Shooting in stark, beautiful black-and-white, Chuan's film unfolds on an epic scale, creating a horribly authentic portrait of a city under siege. There are a few key characters to cling on to as Nanking slides into chaos and degradation, with dead bodies littering the streets and women lined up to be raped by bored soldiers, and these subtle performances ensure the film retains a strong core of humanity. City of Life and Death is a masterpiece that spares us nothing, and while it's certainly difficult to watch, it's impossible to look away.