| | ||
 |  | |
'The film reminded me of how brutal war is. Many people walked out midway through the show because they couldn't take it,' said the 37-year-old manager of a foreign company. 'It was also the first time I had seen a film portraying the invasion from a very different - that is, a Japanese - perspective.'
It is precisely director Lu Chuan's depiction of the atrocities, seen through the eyes of a humane Japanese soldier haunted by his helplessness to stop the slaughter ordered by his superiors, that has made the film a magnet for controversy.
While the movie 'revives nationalist feelings', Mr Lu 'was right to tell this story from the viewpoint of a Japanese soldier', he said. 'He wasn't trying to improve the image of the Japanese, but to give another perspective of the events.'
Not all Chinese are comfortable with this paradigm shift, however. Some young Chinese netizens, used to seeing the enemy portrayed as being one-dimensionally evil in textbooks and the media, have branded the movie a 'betrayal of China by covering up the Japanese's savage behaviour'.
Mr Lu, who even received a death threat, said he was 'surprised to see the strong nationalistic reaction from young Chinese' during his recent 15-city tour to promote the movie.
Still, the drama has enjoyed a huge following, drawing well over 160 million viewers since it opened on April 22 and winning praise from some critics for being objective.
It earned US$10.3 million (S$15 million), more than two-thirds of its production budget, within five days of its debut.
City of Life and Death is backed by state-run China Film Group, which promoted the film so aggressively that analysts have suggested the authorities are using the film to reshape Chinese citizens' view of Japan into a more forgiving one.
Little wonder then that it took Chinese officials five months to approve the shooting of City, and another five months to examine the finished product.
