Some Thoughts on Anti-WarMovie · 2025난징사진관1937년, 젊은 우편 배달부 아창은 전쟁 속 목숨을 부지하기 위해 일본군 종군 기자 이토 히데오의 요청으로 난징의 한 사진관에서 사진을 인화하게 된다. 사진관 주인 진씨 가족과 그곳에 하나 둘 모인 피난민들 그리고 비밀리에 인화된 수백 장의 사진. 그 사진 속에는 일본군의 참혹한 만행과 살아 남기 위해 숨죽인 평범한 이들의 모습이 담겨 있었다. 정체가 드러날 위기 속, 아창은 사진관을 임시 피난처로 지키며 세상에 알려야 할 진실, 그 증거들을 모은다. 그리고 마침내 숨겨둔 필름 한 통이 전 세계에 알려지며 진실이 밝혀지는데..8.0드라마, 전쟁, 역사www.themoviedb.orgToday I went to see Nanjing Photo Studio. As someone who has lived in Nanjing for over six years, I’ve come to regard this place as my second hometown. The place names in the film’s dialogue (Confucius Temple, Purple Mountain, Zhonghua Gate, Yuhuatai, Mochou Lake…) are all deeply familiar to me, and they stir the most fragile emotions in my heart. Although the movie was oppressive throughout, I still highly recommend that everyone go experience this feeling in the cinema before it leaves theaters.The following is not a review, and it won’t be closely tied to the film; I just want to take this opportunity to express some of my own views.Let me mention a few scenes that left the deepest impression on me.When the Nanjing defenders assessed the situation and prepared to retreat, they were held at gunpoint by their own people and ordered not to retreat.A new recruit said, “According to the Geneva Conventions, we cannot kill prisoners of war,” but was scolded by his superior, who then demonstrated personally.The Japanese military photographer Ito “gently” fed a rice ball to a dog while turning a blind eye to the countless murdered Chinese people in the background.After Ito learned to develop photos and was about to kill Su Liuchang, he gave up halfway and handed him two passes. At that moment, I truly thought he still had a conscience and was just a Japanese person caught up in Japanese militarism. But later I realized he was merely a hypocrite who couldn’t bring himself to kill and entrusted the Japanese soldiers checking passes to do the deed.In the end, Ito killed the traitor who tried to resist and said, “This is what happens when a dog bites its master.”After being stabbed, Su Liuchang said in Japanese, “We are not friends, never have been.”I have to say, the antagonist Ito is exceptionally well-crafted, a classic example of how, under a militaristic system, a young man who dared not harm others “grows” into a beast.Listing these scenes is also meant to express a view of mine: in war, whether aggressor or victim, the people on both sides become tools, losing agency over their own lives and becoming grains of sand swept along by the torrent of history. To truly avoid war, we must look upward for the causes. Most wars since modern times have been used by those in power as a pressure relief valve for domestic tensions. This was true of Germany and Japan in the past, and it is true of Israel today. Even if we bridge all the nations, ethnicities, classes, and religions on Earth, as long as power remains in the hands of a few, conflict between people will always be inevitable. Only communism, or a social form even more advanced than communism, might finally consign the word “war” to history.Finally, let me add a disclaimer to avoid misunderstandings. I am not opposing government or power. Communism must be realized, but before that happens, we still have a very long, long way to go, and we cannot yet see even a glimmer of dawn. Therefore, until then, we still need coercive state apparatuses and patriotic citizens to drive society’s long-term progress.By the way, the recent chapters of Reverse: 1999 also depict war exceptionally well. If you’re interested, you might want to check it out (not an ad).哔哩哔哩视频加载中...哔哩哔哩视频加载中...Also, while writing this, I saw netizens’ comments on the recently released film 731. I was truly speechless… To take such a serious historical subject and handle it like that, then use that title and release timing to profit from Chinese people’s patriotic sentiment. Our patriotism is not cheap, and such works are better off not appearing at all, because cheap patriotic sentiment only leads society toward the far-right. Many countries around the world are experiencing this, and I do not want the people of our country to be influenced by far-right ideology.
Some Thoughts on Anti-War
Some Thoughts on Anti-War
Today I went to see Nanjing Photo Studio. As someone who has lived in Nanjing for over six years, I’ve come to regard this place as my second hometown. The place names in the film’s dialogue (Confucius Temple, Purple Mountain, Zhonghua Gate, Yuhuatai, Mochou Lake…) are all deeply familiar to me, and they stir the most fragile emotions in my heart. Although the movie was oppressive throughout, I still highly recommend that everyone go experience this feeling in the cinema before it leaves theaters.
The following is not a review, and it won’t be closely tied to the film; I just want to take this opportunity to express some of my own views.
Let me mention a few scenes that left the deepest impression on me.
I have to say, the antagonist Ito is exceptionally well-crafted, a classic example of how, under a militaristic system, a young man who dared not harm others “grows” into a beast.
Listing these scenes is also meant to express a view of mine: in war, whether aggressor or victim, the people on both sides become tools, losing agency over their own lives and becoming grains of sand swept along by the torrent of history. To truly avoid war, we must look upward for the causes. Most wars since modern times have been used by those in power as a pressure relief valve for domestic tensions. This was true of Germany and Japan in the past, and it is true of Israel today. Even if we bridge all the nations, ethnicities, classes, and religions on Earth, as long as power remains in the hands of a few, conflict between people will always be inevitable. Only communism, or a social form even more advanced than communism, might finally consign the word “war” to history.
Finally, let me add a disclaimer to avoid misunderstandings. I am not opposing government or power. Communism must be realized, but before that happens, we still have a very long, long way to go, and we cannot yet see even a glimmer of dawn. Therefore, until then, we still need coercive state apparatuses and patriotic citizens to drive society’s long-term progress.
By the way, the recent chapters of Reverse: 1999 also depict war exceptionally well. If you’re interested, you might want to check it out (not an ad).
Also, while writing this, I saw netizens’ comments on the recently released film 731. I was truly speechless… To take such a serious historical subject and handle it like that, then use that title and release timing to profit from Chinese people’s patriotic sentiment. Our patriotism is not cheap, and such works are better off not appearing at all, because cheap patriotic sentiment only leads society toward the far-right. Many countries around the world are experiencing this, and I do not want the people of our country to be influenced by far-right ideology.