City of Life and Death (2010)

RATING:	100%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/)

Difficult to describe this intimate and exceptionally-good war epic in words because director Lu Chuan is such an original talent.

The "Rape of Nanking" is described in horrifying emotional detail that disconcertingly sucks you into the terror without disgusting you into being distracted from the essential drama. The individual stories shine through loud and clear and we are never sure who is going to survive the ordeal, which makes a refreshing change from the Hollywood convention that the highest-paid actor is supposed to be the last man standing. The black-and-white photography also helps focus our attention on the strongly-realized characters and away from the vivid, but potentially-distracting, battle scenes.

Like the equally-compelling Schindler's List, the photographic appearance of the film is integral to the telling of the story whose theme is common humanity in a civilized world.

Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.