If nothing else this demonstrates that despite having got to a point in my life where I've seen a lot of films, there are still films out there that can offer up new sights unseen by my eyes. Not sure that this is a good thing anymore but wow, I certainly saw some things. Thanks Joefest.
Pass the mind bleach
ReplyDeleteLulls you into a false sense of security that the atrocities you'll see mainly involved the dehumanisation of children and then a man shat his intestines out to remind you that the Japanese are waaaay more fucked up than that.
ReplyDeleteNotorious account of Japanese POW experiments and atrocities towards the end of WWII. Its notoriety derives mainly from its extremely graphic depiction of almost unbelievably inhumane experiments conducted on Chinese prisoners in Unit 731. It's perhaps an unfair reputation but I couldn't shake the feeling that the most gruesome scenes come off as gratuitous, since the generally sub-par level of acting (bad dubbing notwithstanding) and direction drags the film down closer to exploitation territory. I'm not sure whether Tun Fei Mou was a Chinese nationalist making a film from a place of rage or whether he was simply an opportunist out to exploit real life atrocities for shock value. A glance at his filmography would suggest the latter.
ReplyDeleteThe true story of 731 is a horrific reminder of the depravity humankind has been capable of and may be capable of again, left unchecked, but it deserves a better, less salacious expose than this film offers IMO.