The film is roughly dealing with two heated topics, massacre and rape, or comfort women.

NK first struck me by filming in black and white, making it more life-like or documentary-like, every emotion and expression not being skipped. Thanks to the black and white, it made the bloodshed scenes less scary, but more distressed. The fear to be killed in the eyes of the kmt soldiers, the determination to fight back, shooting aimlessly at the innocent civilians, burying residents alive, the floating cops, the kindness to help your fellows survive, the sinister smirk of nasty Japanese killers, the gun shot on and off, all of these made my heart hammer and almost get my heart attack.

When seeing defeated soldiers enclosed in the confined space, I saw some of the surrendered soldiers trying to flee and not ready to combat before, who ended in the same fate by shooting rampage. I wondered, at that moment that, if you defended the city before, at least you died for honor not cowardliness. Even though you shouted long live china, did it help? Shame on you!

If the killing makes NK unbearable, seeing the comfort women suffer the sexual violence is excruciating. As a young and educated lady, I feel really indignant to see the ignorant women play the mahjong, who did not know the imminent dangers were edging or perils were already waiting for you, which reminds me of the stanza in poem “A Mooring On The Qin Huai River (夜泊秦淮)”, “Where girls, with no thought of a perished kingdom, Gaily echo A Song of Courtyard Flowers (商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花)”. I don’t know whether the director feels pitiful for or somewhat looks down upon them in this scene. I feel shameful for them. When they suffered the rape or other sexual abuses, I hyperventilated, and at the very moment, I feel discreditable for those who like watching Japanese porn. I just saw the animal instincts of men, especially the perverts. I feel terrible when I still see some women still have no idea what education means to them, who just simply want to get married to a rich man.

Before going, I was reminded that the movie would upset you from the beginning till the end, no time to give you any second to breathe. Remember to bring tissues. When seeing it, an ocean of grief washed me over and over again, even drowned me there.

NK is worth seeing to some extent, but I kept counting the time down because it is horrifying and I did not know what to expect, for the event to come will be far worse.

Can this be forgiven and forgotten? Can we do what the Jesus did to Judas? I guess it is very complicated. Perhaps they can be forgiven, but we will never forget what you did to us.


Defects or spoilers

There are some defects, in my point of view, in NK. I bet that there is no teachers in the movie, for the Chinese explanatory (in the not obvious left side and it is exactly the unclear and not bold characters) of the English backdrop information is not crystally clear to me due to my poor eyesight and my seat in the far back of the hall. I guess I will cover certain part of the movie again to get the full idea. As an English major, it is not easy to read fast through the letters, too short for me to figure out the words.

The character, the Japanese soldier, I don’t know how to say his name, who I like to call j. I know he is an artistic creation in order to reason those conservative Japanese politicians or fooled public. However, he does not look real or practical to me. I don’t even believe there was a single guy feeling this way. In NK, at the last few minutes, he let go of the child and the man. Then he shot himself, and the moment, the two free men felt shocked and looked for bullet holes in themselves. Of course, they are perfectly safe and the child, for the first time, laughed a laugh from the bottom of his heart, which I think the director intentionally tries to give us hope. Well… is it too unnatural to invent this scene? to me, it seems that the japanese guy gave them freedom, not ally or fellow chinese.