Nanking (2007 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Nanking

| image = Nanking movie poster1.jpg

| caption = Nanking film poster

| director = Bill Guttentag
Dan Sturman

| producer = Ted Leonsis
Bill Guttentag
Michael Jacobs

| writer = Bill Guttentag
Dan Sturman
Elisabeth Bentley

| narrator =

| starring = Rosalind Chao
Stephen Dorff
John Getz
Woody Harrelson
Mariel Hemingway
Michelle Krusiec
Jürgen Prochnow
Sonny Saito
Graham Sibley
Robert Wu

| music = Philip Marshall

| cinematography = Stephen Kazmierski
Buddy Squires

| editing = Hibah Sherif Frisina
Charlton McMillan
Michael Schweitzer

| distributor = Fortissimo Films (world)
THINKFilm (U.S.)

| released = {{Film date|2007|01|20|Sundance|2007|07|03|China}}

| runtime = 88 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English
Mandarin (Nanjing dialect)
Japanese

| budget =

}}

Nanking ({{zh|c=南京}}) is a 2007 documentary film about the Nanjing Massacre, committed in 1937 by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. It was inspired by Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking (1997), which discussed the persecution and murder of the Chinese by the Imperial Japanese Army in the then-capital of Nanjing at the outset of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). 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. Contemporary actors play the roles of the Western missionaries, professors, and businessmen who formed the Nanking Safety Zone to protect the city's civilians from Japanese forces. Particular attention is paid to Nazi Party member John Rabe, a German businessman who organized the Nanking Safety Zone, Robert O. Wilson, a surgeon who remained in Nanjing to care for legions of victims, and Minnie Vautrin, a missionary educator who rendered aid to thousands of Nanjing's women.

Synopsis

In the winter of 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing and killed over 300,000 and raped tens of thousands of Chinese people, one of human history's worst atrocities. In order to protect Chinese civilians, a small group of European and American expatriates, Western missionaries, professors, and businessmen banded together to save 250,000, risking their own lives.

The film describes the Nanjing Massacre by reading from letters and diaries which shows the activities of John Rabe (Jürgen Prochnow), a German businessman, Robert O. Wilson (Woody Harrelson), the only surgeon remaining to care for legions of victims, and Minnie Vautrin (Mariel Hemingway), an educator who passionately defends the lives and honor of Nanjing's women during the war time.

The film includes survivors who tell their own stories, the archival footage of the events, and the testimonies of Japanese soldiers who participated in the rampage.

Voice actors

Hugo Armstrong – John Magee
Rosalind Chao – Chang Yu Zheng
Stephen Dorff – Lewis Smythe
John Getz – George Ashmore Fitch
Woody Harrelson – Bob Wilson
Mariel Hemingway – Minnie Vautrin
Michelle Krusiec – Yang Shu Ling
Leah Liang Lewis (as Leah Liang) – Banner Girl
Chris Mulkey – Mills McCallum
Jürgen Prochnow – John Rabe
Sonny Saito – Higashi Sakai
Graham Sibley – Miner Searle Bates
Mark Valley – Stage Manager
Robert Wu – Li Pu

Production

The film was conceptualized and funded by AOL Vice-Chairman Ted Leonsis. While on vacation during the Christmas of 2005 in St. Bart's, Leonsis read The Rape of Nanking after seeing the obituary for the book's author, Iris Chang. The book inspired Leonsis to research the massacre further and eventually led to his creation of the film project.

Leonsis had expressed his desire for the film to be released theatrically, as well as on DVD, television, and cable. He hopes to use local DVD sales as an advertising platform for businesses that want to break into the Chinese market.{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/30/AR2006073000026.html|title= Ted Leonsis Takes a Sharp Turn|last= Heath|first= Thomas|date= 2006-07-31|newspaper= Washington post|accessdate=2007-06-22}} He also expressed interest in making the film available for free online, saying "We'll get a sponsor", "I'm not worried about piracy. I want people to share the movie."{{cite news |url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/sundance/news/e3i4a4504d41787dd92e31f5f7ccb4c7fb8|title= Leonsis newest 'filmanthropist' at Sundance|last= Thompson|first= Anne|date= 2007-01-22|publisher= The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=2007-06-22 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930210321/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/sundance/news/e3i4a4504d41787dd92e31f5f7ccb4c7fb8 |archivedate = 2007-09-30}}

Release and reaction

File:Ted Leonsis at the 68th Annual Peabody Awards for Nanking.jpg

Nanking has received numerous positive reviews, including one from Reuters that says that the "beautifully crafted film...honors the highest calling of documentary filmmaking." It was accepted to the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2007 and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize (Documentary); the film was awarded honors for Documentary Editing.{{cite web |url=http://festival.sundance.org/2007/winners/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival_Announces_Jury_and_Audience_Awards.pdf |title=2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES JURY AND AUDIENCE AWARDS |accessdate=2007-01-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226135844/http://festival.sundance.org/2007/winners/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival_Announces_Jury_and_Audience_Awards.pdf |archivedate=2007-02-26 }} In 2008, this documentary was awarded the Peabody Award.[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/nanking 68th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2009. Japanese right-wing nationalist{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2007-02/01/content_5682704.htm|script-title=zh:日本右翼拍《南京真相》欲盖弥彰不得人心|language=Chinese|date=2007-02-01|accessdate=2012-04-18|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225191203/http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2007-02/01/content_5682704.htm|archive-date=2011-12-25|url-status=dead}} filmmaker Satoru Mizushima called the film a "setup by China to control intelligence," and plans to release his own documentary, The Truth about Nanjing, in which the massacre is portrayed as merely political propaganda.{{cite web |url= http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070125a3.html|title= Filmmaker to paint Nanjing slaughter as just myth|last= Hongo|first= Jun|date= 2007-01-25|publisher= The Japan Times}} On his blog, Nanking producer Ted Leonsis responded by saying: "Our film isn't an anti-Japanese film. It is an anti-war film."{{cite web|url= http://www.tedstake.com/?p=586|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130203165023/http://www.tedstake.com/?p=586|url-status= dead|archive-date= February 3, 2013|title= An Anti-War Film|last= Leonsis|first= Ted|date= 2007-01-25}}

In July 2007, the film premiered in Beijing and opened in China.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6270274.stm|title=Beijing launch for massacre film|publisher=BBC News|date=2007-07-04|accessdate=2007-07-05}}

On November 19, 2007, Nanking was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of 15 films on its documentary feature Oscar shortlist.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i587be3b0ca27043557eff60b69803664 | title=Shortlist for docu Oscar unveiled |accessdate=2007-12-21|date=2007-11-20|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080705063437/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i587be3b0ca27043557eff60b69803664 |archivedate = 2008-07-05}} It was not retained when the list was narrowed to the final five nominations.{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html |title=Nominees and winners - 80th Academy Awards |access-date=2008-03-17 |archive-date=2008-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327230458/http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html |url-status=dead }} Guttentag, Sturman, and Bentley received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/biz/awards/cody-coen-bros-top-wga-awards-1117980615/|title=Cody, Coens bros. top WGA Awards|last1=Thielman|first1=Sam|last2=McNary|first2=Dave|date=9 February 2008|website=Variety|accessdate=20 February 2019}}

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.nankingthefilm.com|Nanking}} – official site
{{IMDb title|0893356|Nanking}}
{{rotten Tomatoes|nanking|Nanking}}
{{Metacritic film|title=Nanking}}
{{mojo title|nanking|Nanking}}
[http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=4655 Nanking] at Sundance.org
[http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-8830-it_did_not_leave_my_ears_nanking_reviewed.html Nanking, reviewed in Willamette Week] By N.P. Thompson
[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11833494 "Hollywood Takes On Japan's 1937 Invasion of China"] NPR Story about Nanking's release in China
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099465973 A Winter in China] Novelisation of the International Security Zone during the Nanking Massacre.