From 1931 to 1945, Japan waged a brutal war of aggression across China, committing crimes against humanity in dozens of cities. An estimated 35 million Chinese civilians and soldiers lost their lives.
The Nanjing Massacre (also referred to as the Rape of Nanjing), which began in December 1937, was one of the worst atrocities of that era: over 300,000 civilians and surrendered soldiers were slaughtered, women raped, children mutilated. The scale of violence was so extreme that, as one critic put it, "if the crimes committed in Nanjing were shown on screen in full, no theater in the world could play the film".
Anger over the events at Nanjing continues to color Sino-Japanese relations to this day. The true nature of the massacre has been disputed and exploited for propaganda purposes by historical revisionists, apologists and Japanese nationalists. Some claim the numbers of deaths have been inflated, while others have even denied that any massacre occurred.
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victories in both the World Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. On September 03, China will hold a grand military parade to commemorate these milestones.
It is said the movie "Dead to Rights" is a masterclass in hushed restraint. It intentionally avoids graphic spectacle in favor of quiet moral clarity. And still, it can't hide the fact that it is gut-wrenching.
Based on real events, the story mirrors that of Luo Jin, an apprentice at a Nanjing photo studio who secretly copied a Japanese officer's film roll, and Wu Xuan, who safeguarded the prints and later used them as legal evidence. These photographs were instrumental in convicting Japanese Lieutenant General Hisao Tani of being a Class-B war criminal during post-war trials.
“Dead to Rights” began nationwide screening in China on July 25 and according to data from Artisan Gateway, the movie already leads for a third weekend, adding RMB303.6 million ($42.2 million) and lifting its cume to RMB2.203 billion ($306 million). That also made it the No. 3 film globally over the weekend, according to Comscore.
There's no doubt that "Dead to Rights" is a must-watch film!
FYI, as of May 03, 2025, only 27 registered survivors of the Nanjing Massacre remain alive. This movie, to a certain extent, makes up for this loss. It allows audiences to experience the terrifying scenes that the survivors once endured through compelling imagery.
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