Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre

Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre
DVD cover
Directed by	Mou Tun Fei
Produced by	Fu Chi
Written by	Mou Tun Fei
Starring	Liang Zhang Yung Pan Shao-tien Hsiung Wen-ting Chiang Wen-tu Pan Hua Shao
Distributed by	Japan Shock (Netherlands)
Release date	July 7, 1995
Language	Mandarin

Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre, also called Men Behind the Sun 4, is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and 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. The movie depicts the events behind the Nanking Massacre committed by the Imperial Japanese army against Chinese citizens and refugees during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Like Men Behind the Sun, the film was both criticized and praised for its brutal portrayal of the Japanese atrocities, such as the notorious contest to kill 100 people using a sword, during the early and late stages of World War II, but at the same time was questioned over historical accuracy and violence which gave the film a more exploitation feel.

The movie does not have a central storyline, though it follows individual members of a Chinese family during the Nanking Massacre. The movie begins after the Japanese have captured the city and begin a "cleanup" phase. Homes are broken into and burned, the residents killed and raped. Bowing to international pressure, the Japanese government has agreed to establish refugee safety zones, only to violate the agreement at their whim, knowing that there is no force that can really prevent them from doing so. As a result, they regularly enter the refugee camps, kidnapping women and executing Chinese policemen and suspected soldiers. Several foreign residents try to defend the refugees, and while they carry weight due to their political ties, they ultimately cannot stand against the armed troops. Some of the foreigners depicted in the film include the German businessman John Rabe and American missionary Minnie Vautrin.

...
Wikipedia