Nanking: A Documentary FIlm

I studied the Nanking Massacre (1937) from my Chinese history book when I was a seventh grader. I also learned from my late father who was a young boy during the World War II. The massacre committed by the Japanese soldiers when they captured the Chinese capital, Nanking in August 1937. I have seen the historical pictures from the section of Far East War in one of the World War II books. There is no single book about the massacre until 1997, Iris Chang wrote a book called, The Rape of Nanking. Chang's research on the book was credited with the finding of the diaries of John Rabe and Minnie Vautrin, the foreigners who lived in Nanking during the World War II and witnessed the massacre.

This documentary film Nanking (2008) describes the massacre by reading the diaries and letters of John Rabe , Minnie Vautrin, and Robert Wilson - a German surgeon. The subject matter and the archival footage of the events are compelling. It includes the interviews of the survivors who tell their own horrible experience at a very young age. When I saw the testimonies of Japanese soldiers who participated in the rampage, I keep wondering what they are thinking now at their old age. Do they regret what they have done? Are they proud of their victory in Nanking? None of the Japanese soldiers say "sorry for they have done" in the interviews. They did describe how they killed 20,00 Chinese soldier without showing any emotion. That makes me cry inside of me. Is it possible for them to live without regrets?

It is a very well done film. Very good pace, brief, to the point and keep its viewers right to the film. Recommended.