Fragments of war: "City of Life and Death"

A fresh approach to a familiar chapter of Chinese history, "City of Life and Death" revisits the Japanese invasion of Nanjing in 1937, when over 300,000 Chinese were killed. Eschewing much of the anger, brutality and ferocity expressed by previous filmmakers, Lu Chuan instead depicts the war in a humane fashion rather than playing on local sensitivities and creating simple black-and-white portraits of good and evil.

Using several characters to represent the personal stories of the Nanjing massacre, the main protagonist is a local soldier who refuses to bow to the Japanese - and is later sentenced to death. Another commendable character is a schoolteacher, who despite feelings of utter despair in the face of the Japanese, spares no effort to save Chinese lives. Even more sympathetic is the woman who sacrifices herself to help her compatriots by volunteering to serve as a prostitute for the invading army.

One of the film's weaknesses, however, is the meandering plot. But Lu compensates for this with his representations of the many raw emotions felt by Chinese, which like the rest of the film are clinically depicted through monochrome footage.

By appealing to international audiences and exploring both sides of the invasion, Lu also shares the story of a Japanese soldier and demonstrates how the massacre affected 'the enemy'. With deliberate intent, this ultimately blurs the lines between local and foreign identities, and good versus evil.

For Chinese, the movie has already been accepted as a must-see this summer, if only for its adult treatment of subjects like morality, patriotism, war and judgment.

John Rabe (2009)

Another take on the Nanjing massacre directed by German filmmaker Florian Gallenberger, it paints a portrait of German businessman John Raber who saved the lives of over 200,000 Chinese from 1937-38.

Female Agents (2008)

Starring famous French actress Sophie Marceau, a group of French servicewomen are enlisted to rescue a British army geologist and kill a German colonel in 1944.