City of Life and Death (2009)

Directed by Chuan Lu
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, DVD, Kino)
(Starz)

Exceptionally depressing look at Japanese soldiers conquering Nanking at the beginning of WWII. The first half is a video game inspired depiction of battles amid the crumbling city. It might as well have been the latest first person shooter. This is followed by a parade of atrocities and debauchery committed by the Japanese on the poor residents of Nanking. There are endless, mind numbing scenes of rape, executions, murder, torture, suicide, families being separated, and on and on and on. It's shot in a modern, shaky cam style that is nauseating.