City of Life and Death

Nanjing, China 1937. Japanese forces invade this once-capital of the Republic of China on December 9th. Throughout the following six weeks, soldiers raped thousands of women and annihilated hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians with mass executions; crowds mown down by firing squads, and victims digging their own graves. Few events carry the ugly and sickening connotations of what has become known as the Rape of Nanking . Director Lu Chuan tells the horrifying story through several figures, including a conscience-stricken Japanese soldier and John Rabe, a Nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of Chinese civilians lives.