MichaelReviews

A remarkable film. Certainly not for everyone. I needed to look away several times; this experience has not befallen me during even the most grotesque horror films. This film is as much psychological as it is obscene. Some shots are so stunning that I found myself in awe. There was a palpable sense of dread - perhaps almost evil - in the theater; this is a film one feels. One leaves the theater ambivalent: At once disgusted but at the same time amazed. One leaves the film with questions: What was the point of this film? Was there a greater message behind the madness? Is the filmmaker crazy? None of that matters. This is what good art is. It makes one think, feel, and ultimately, leaves one different after having encountered her.

The movie is shot so realistically I thought I was watching a documentary. The movie follows a day in the life of a Chinese food delivery boy, and all the difficulties that this line of work entails. The twist here is that this delivery boy is an illegal immigrant and has a significant debt to repay. I was surprised to see how difficult this line of work really is, and never really thought about the stories of the people who are doing this work. I wonder how many others delivery boys are in the same situation as the character in this film. There are times of heartfelt camaraderie between the workers of the Chinese restaurant, each willing to help the other out in times of greatest need. I certainly will be more generous with my tipping after having seen this film.

An important movie that must be watched. John Rabe was a hero to the Chinese people. He saved 200,000 men, women, and children from certain hardship, probable torture, and likely death. Yet after the war, he was condemned by his country, and lived a life of poverty, slipping into obscurity until his death. There has been too little written about this man. "The Rape of Nanjing" by Iris Chang does cover him in good detail in parts of the book. It's certainly about time for a piece to have been done about his efforts in Nanjing, about his life.

The movie is masterfully paced, poignant, and at times devastatingly sad - only able to hint at the atrocities the people of Nanjing must have faced. Yet the movie is ultimately a tribute to the power of few to change the lives of many, to the ultimate goodness of humans.