Its about goddamned time! Lu Chuan's 2009 drama about the Nanking Massacre, City of Life and Death has finally found a distributor in the United States. Already released in many other countries around the world, I've been waiting for this news since I first saw the film in the Fall of 2009 on an import Blu-ray disc. I've since seen it several other times, including once at the Dallas IFF in 2010, and it never hurts any less.
City of Life and Death is one of several films dealing with the tragedy of Nanking, including John Rabe from Germany in 2009 that takes a radically different approach to the events as they happened. I prefer City because it doesn't gloss over anything and manages to convey the sense of helplessness felt by the people of Nanking without feeling sensationalistic.
The fact of the matter is that this film does not show everything that happened during that time period in Nanking, and sacrificed a lot of the more heinous details for the sake of avoiding an exploitative look at a tragic moment in not-to-distant Chinese history. For a third look at this event, you could check out Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre, which, while extremely exploitative, does manage to tackle some of those more heinous details in a rather ingenious way.
It appears that Kino International will be touring City of Life and Death starting May 11th with a two week run at Film Forum in NYC. From there, the City begins a more extensive tour of the country, with many markets, I'm sure, yet to be determined.
I have asked for details from Kino about this film's release, but I haven't gotten any yet. Perhaps this post will get them to send me a trailer and a proper poster. Come on Kino...
In the meantime, here is their temp trailer they've posted to youtube. The opening music makes it sound way too much like a war film, which it is not, but the rest isn't so bad.
City of Life and Death is one of several films dealing with the tragedy of Nanking, including John Rabe from Germany in 2009 that takes a radically different approach to the events as they happened. I prefer City because it doesn't gloss over anything and manages to convey the sense of helplessness felt by the people of Nanking without feeling sensationalistic.
The fact of the matter is that this film does not show everything that happened during that time period in Nanking, and sacrificed a lot of the more heinous details for the sake of avoiding an exploitative look at a tragic moment in not-to-distant Chinese history. For a third look at this event, you could check out Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre, which, while extremely exploitative, does manage to tackle some of those more heinous details in a rather ingenious way.
It appears that Kino International will be touring City of Life and Death starting May 11th with a two week run at Film Forum in NYC. From there, the City begins a more extensive tour of the country, with many markets, I'm sure, yet to be determined.
| Film Forum | New York | NY | May 11th - 24th | |||
| Landmark Kendall Square Cinema | Boston | MA | June 3rd - 9th | |||
| Landmark Ritz Five | Philadelphia | PA | June 3rd - 9th | |||
| Landmark E Street Cinema | Washington | DC | June 10th - 16th | |||
| Landmark Nuart Theatre | Los Angeles | CA | June 17th - 23rd | |||
| Landmark Lagoon Cinema | Minneapolis | MN | June 24th - 30th | |||
| Landmark Ken Cinema | San Diego | CA | June 24th - 30th | |||
| Landmark Tivoli Theatre | St. Louis | MO | July 8th - 14th | |||
| Landmark Varsity Theatre | Seattle | WA | July 8th - 14th | |||
| Landmark Midtown Art Cinema | Atlanta | GA | July 8th - 14th | |||
| Wexner Center for the Arts | Columbus | OH | July 22 and 23 ONLY |
I have asked for details from Kino about this film's release, but I haven't gotten any yet. Perhaps this post will get them to send me a trailer and a proper poster. Come on Kino...
In the meantime, here is their temp trailer they've posted to youtube. The opening music makes it sound way too much like a war film, which it is not, but the rest isn't so bad.
I bought this on DVD for a £5, a great film, then about 2 days ago i saw the same film on sale in Glasgow for £3, and for that price it's a steal... I wish i saw this in the cinema...
This is great news! Aside from the fact that this film is spectacular, it's also an important one and is mandatory viewing I think, especially since The Nanking Massacre is given absolutely zero media attention here in the States. It truly is "The Forgotten Holocaust."