Don't Cry, Nanking
Encyclopedia
Don't Cry, Nanking, also known as Nanjing 1937 , is a 1995 Chinese film
about the 1937 Nanking Massacre
committed by the Imperial Japanese Army
in the former capital city Nanjing
, China
.
hoping to seek refuge in the capital where the doctor was born.
Being Japanese, the wife must hide her origins to the Chinese citizens, but soon upon their arrival, the city is invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army
and this time, it is the father who tries to hide his identity as the family tries to reach the safety zone established by the International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone
.
Among historical characters such as John Rabe
and Minnie Vautrin
(whose names have been curiously changed to John Robbins and Whitney Craft in the English translation), the film also features an out-of-context excerpt of the infamous Contest to kill 100 people using a sword between Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyochi Noda.
There are some painful scenes such as the execution, by machine gun, of thousands of Chinese prisoners of war.
Being produced before the publishing of such books like Iris Chang
's The Rape of Nanking
and Herbert Bix's Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, the movie shows General Iwane Matsui
giving the order to "kill all the captives" and omits any reference to Prince Asaka
.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
about the 1937 Nanking Massacre
Nanking Massacre
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...
committed by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
in the former capital city Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Plot
The story focuses on a family, a Chinese doctor, his pregnant Japanese wife and their two children, who escaped the Battle of ShanghaiBattle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
hoping to seek refuge in the capital where the doctor was born.
Being Japanese, the wife must hide her origins to the Chinese citizens, but soon upon their arrival, the city is invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and this time, it is the father who tries to hide his identity as the family tries to reach the safety zone established by the International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone
The International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone
The International Committee was established in order to protect and reinstate the Nanking Safety Zone. Many Westerners were living in the city at that time, conducting trade or on missionary trips. Following the departing Chinese government, most foreigners also decided to leave the city. As the...
.
Among historical characters such as John Rabe
John Rabe
John Rabe was a German businessman who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Occupation and his work to protect and help the Chinese civilians during the event...
and Minnie Vautrin
Minnie Vautrin
Wilhelmina Vautrin was an American missionary renowned for saving the lives of many women at the Ginling Girls College in Nanjing, China, during the Nanking Massacre.- Biography :...
(whose names have been curiously changed to John Robbins and Whitney Craft in the English translation), the film also features an out-of-context excerpt of the infamous Contest to kill 100 people using a sword between Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyochi Noda.
There are some painful scenes such as the execution, by machine gun, of thousands of Chinese prisoners of war.
Being produced before the publishing of such books like Iris Chang
Iris Chang
Iris Shun-Ru Chang was an American historian and journalist. She is best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide on November 9, 2004...
's The Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking (book)
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is a bestselling 1997 non-fiction book written by Iris Chang about the 1937–1938 Nanking Massacre, the massacre and atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army after it captured Nanjing, then capital of China, during the Second...
and Herbert Bix's Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, the movie shows General Iwane Matsui
Iwane Matsui
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary forces sent to China in World War II. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for responsibility over the Nanking Massacre.-Early life...
giving the order to "kill all the captives" and omits any reference to Prince Asaka
Prince Asaka
of Japan, was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army. Son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Emperor Shōwa , Prince Asaka was commander of Japanese forces in the final assault on Nanking , then the capital...
.
Cast
- Chin HanChin HanNg Chin Han , usually credited as just Chin Han, is a Singaporean actor of stage, film and television whose career has spanned over twenty years. He starred in Masters of the Sea, Singapore television's first foray into English-language drama. In recent years he broke into the Hollywood film...
- Shing Yin - Rene LiuRené LiuRené Liu was born June 1, 1969. She is a Taiwanese actress and singer. She is the first to win Best Actress awards at the Asia Pacific Movie Festival in both television and film productions...
- Shu Qin - Cho Yuet - Lui Oi
- Ulrich Ottenburger - John RabeJohn RabeJohn Rabe was a German businessman who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Occupation and his work to protect and help the Chinese civilians during the event...
- Michael Zannett - John Magee
Reception
Upon its release in 1995, the movie grossed HK$2,102,915 in Hong Kong. The film was not released in Japan until December 1997, nearly two years after its completion.See also
- NankingNanking (film)Nanking is a 2007 film about the 1937 Nanking Massacre committed by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. The film draws on letters and diaries from the era as well as archive footage and interviews with surviving victims and perpetrators of the massacre...
(film) - Black Sun: The Nanking MassacreBlack Sun: The Nanking MassacreBlack Sun: The Nanking Massacre, also called Men Behind the Sun 4, is a 1994 Hong Kong film directed by Mou Tun Fei and is in many ways considered to be a follow up to the 1987 shockumentary film, Men Behind the Sun...
- Japanese war crimesJapanese war crimesJapanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
- Tokyo TrialTokyo Trial (film)-Story:This film was directed by Gao Qunshu and is about the International Military Tribunal for the Far East after Japan surrendered after World War II. The movie presents the Trial from the point of view of the Chinese judge Mei Ju-ao....
(film)
External links
- Don't Cry, Nanjing from the Chinese Movie Database
- Article on director Wu Ziniu