Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Bruhl, Steve Buscemi, Anne Consigny, Dagmar Manzel,
Zhang Jingchu, Teruyuki Kagawa, Mathias Herrmann, Tetta Sugimoto, Akira Emoto, Gottfried John
Written by Florian Gallenberger | Certification UK 15 | Runtime 134 minutes | Directed by Florian Gallenberger
This tells the true story of John Rabe (Tukur), the head of the Siemens branch in Nanking, China in 1937, who helped set up a civilian zone in the city, giving protection to 200,000 people, as the Japanese invaded. It details the awakening of his conscience in helping his employees and shielding them from the Japanese marauders.
Drama ensues with his dealings with American doctor Robert Wilson (Buscemi), unconvinced by Rabe's morality and believing him to be a Nazi, which indeed he was, though he was caring about the Chinese people and what would happen to them. He is also helped by German diplomat George Rosen (Bruhl), himself an enemy of the Nazis being Jewish, who suggests the zone, as it was previously done where he worked in Shanghai.
Meanwhile, Valerie Dupres (Consigny), the determined director of the girls' college, is secretly hiding Chinese soldiers, when all military personnel are explicitly banned. When Rabe finds out he must decide whether to keep hiding them or report them. Also practicing subterfuge is student Langshu (Jingchu), furtively leaving the civilian compound every night so she can sneak food over to her young brother.
All these subplots give the air of a TV miniseries and the meandering pace contributes to this feeling but it's nevertheless a solid piece of work with its heart in the right place. Yes, it could be swifter and tighter but it's well acted, handsomely mounted and keeps one engaged throughout. Tukur gives an unfussy, unshowy performance as Rabe, believable in having his eyes opened by the atrocities enveloping him, while Buscemi persuasively spits venom at the distress and ineptitude surrounding him. Bruhl also gives a good account of himself as the young official, keenly aware of how to conduct himself in front of the enemy.
It doesn't wallow in the horror and carnage of war - no Saving Private Ryan vividness here - but it nevertheless gives an impression of the sadism depicted by the military transgressors. In one scene Rabe espies his trusty driver being decapitated, for example.
Overall it's a worthy effort that deserves respect. While it never quite hits the bullseye it is still very satisfying, eschewing barnstorming melodramatics in favour of more subtle conflicts. Overlong, but patiently rewarding. Worth checking out.