Customer Reviews

Devils on the Doorstep

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A masterpiece of recent Chinese cinema, Jiang Wen's DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP (Home Vision Entertainment) has two big endorsements: it won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and was banned in China.

It's 1945. The Japanese army occupies a tiny north Chinese village. Ma Dasan (played by director Wen) is a peasant, who, one night at gunpoint, unexpectedly finds himself responsible for two Japanese soldiers bound in bags. One hostage wants to be killed, while the other, his interpreter, wants to live. Time passes and everyone around Dasan wants him to kill his prisoners, but he has another plan. What starts out as a howling farce, quickly turns fiercely harrowing.

Jiang Wen has not been allowed to make another film. This is a great looking black and white film. Its rich and bold cinematography perfectly matches its subject matter.

This work of by one of China's greatest filmmakers is not to be missed.

I could not give a better review to this movie. ( no more stars available to give).
after viewing it, I thought it was indeed movies like this one what makes collecting them worthwhile.
The quality of this film rests above the accomplishment of its fundamental subject and inclination, it goes beyond conventions, delivering an extremely creative approach to the delicate and still latent issues regarding the Japanese invation of mainland Asia. This movie has one of the most dramatic and well structured endings I have ever seen.... it wraps everything up in the most masterly way. Every piece falls in place, either with uttermost dignity or brutality.

Europeans have well assimilated the plain facts of WWII. Dutch and Germans often mock eachother, although it is in generally meant as joke. This is not the case of Asia, It is still, sadly, much more "emotion" than pragmatism and honest understanding of history. This movie shows, the inner gohsts of the ruthless Japanese Asian conquest campaign.

Script structure: Flawless, Photography: impeccable, direction: pristine, editing: superb.

For any fan of Kurosawa, or more recent Chinese Cinema, this will prove a delightful discovery. Sumptuous scenery around the Great Wall provides the backdrop for this most-forgotten of Wartime theatres. The sense of claustrophobia and at times, sheer terror, is well-portrayed by a cast unknown to Western viewers.
A lesson in betrayal and lost trust. Highly recommended.

This is simply one of the greatest movies that I have ever seen. Shot in stark black-and-white with excellent screenplay and direction, it has the most unexpected ending I have ever seen in a movie. Suffice it to say that the movie does a complete u-turn about midway. It is a movie about the brutality of war, occupation and how kindness is often repaid by cruelty.

The brutality of the Japanese in China during World War 2 is one of the most overlooked atrocities in all of history. Over 30 million chinese were slaughtered by their Japanese counterparts.

Much attention is paid to the Holocaust of my own people, the Jews in Germany. However, I think we should not forget the vast human wanton murders which occurred in China. The Japanese slaughtered people there systematically, maybe not as horrificly systematic as the Germans did to the Jews........but just as horrifying.

This movie in many ways is a comedy, but anyone with knowledge of the war could FEEL the lingering brutality about to be unleashed by the Japanese. A sad, yet great story. Do not miss this.

Just watched this film. Where's the interview and filmography?

Great film though... to Chinese and Japanese audience who haven't seen this, this film is different than any film ever done about the war between the two counturies, it makes all other film i've seen about the subject matter, to quote Soderbergh "small". it's so much more than those films, so much more than that war, than any war in general really.

When I first viewed "Devils on the Doorstep," I thought, well, okay, is this what all the hype is about? I have seen more graphic and brutal films on war than this! And quite frankly, I probably would have given the film 3-stars instead of 5-stars. However, I decided to watch it again, and found the film more than lived up to all of its hype. I am surprised that this film has received so many 5-star ratings--but maybe the other reviewers saw something in this film the I saw too! As a word of caution, however, this is not a film for everyone. For one, the brutality of the war Japan waged in China in WWII is not given full weight, and secondly, the films most unusual ending seem a bit too bizarre.

Yet, it was on the second viewing that I really liked what director Jiang Wen did with this film. You want constant brutality? Well there are enough documentary films which depict the true horror of Japans occupation of China. But what was it about this film that captured my attention so much upon second viewing? Well for starters, I liked the way the director weaved a film that shows a little bit of humanity in the film. Sure, Ma Dasan could have killed his captors whenever he wanted to. But he did not. Maybe there is a morality tale here?

Especially considering that the Japanese soldier held captive wanted to be killed, or allowed to die with honor. After all, Japanese soldiers' lives were forfeit to the emperor by default. Moreover, to be taken prisoner was considered shameful. And considering all of the suffering that the Japanese inflicted on the Chinese during WWII, the killing of the Japanese soldier would have been no big deal. But the director does not take the viewer to these oft treaded waters that so many films that pass for cinema usually take the viewer.

And this is one of the reasons I liked this film. The Chinese do not dehumanize themselves as the Japanese do in this film. No, the Chinese depicted in the film have the moral high ground. And it is a shame that the government of China decided to place director Jiang Wen under house arrest and ban any further films by this talented director, because he did not TELL the viewer how brutal the Japanese were, he shows the viewer this in the film. [Jiang Wen also portrays the captor Ma Dasan in this film]. The film itself takes place in China during the closing months of WWII, and the invading Japanese army occupies a small village in a northern area of a China.

Although the memory of the Second World War has lessened in its impact in the USA, when one realizes the enormous human losses and suffering the Japanese inflicted on their fellow Asians, and the Chinese in particular, then one can understand why the Chinese do not allow this war to rest and go quietly into the history books. Enormous suffering was incurred against the Chinese. In the film, two Japanese soldiers are held hostage by a Chinese peasant named Ma Dasan. Both of the prisoners are first held in bags, and then imprisoned: All within easy reach of a fortified Japanese position. One of the hostages [A Japanese soldier] wants to be killed, while the other one, his Chinese interpretor working alongside the Japanese army, wants to live. Those around Ma Dasan want the soldiers executed.

However, Ma Dasan has his own plan. And eventually a decision is reached, which has horrifying consequences. One of the things about this film is that it is more or less a drama and semi-comedy to some extent for the first hour and a half. But the ending half hour is where some very unexpected events will occur. The film is shot in black and white, with Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese language. English subtitles are provided. It is a great film! and a must have for your cinema collection. And once again, the film is not for everyone, so rent it first. But for those who like Asian cinema, the film comes highly recommended! [Stars: 4.5]

This anti-war film from China (the People's Republic) mixes farce, black comedy, and grim violence to portray a village under the occupation of the Japanese Army during WWII. The villagers become the custodians of two hostages, and with that their troubles begin. Shot in gorgeous black and white and deftly edited to keep 2+ hours of film time moving at a rapid pace, this film immerses you in a world of simple village life, where eight years of military occupation have taken a toll on the limited resources of a handful of impoverished residents.

The Japanese soldiers seem at first almost harmless, appearing as a marching band, its leader distributing candy to the village children. While one of the hostages taken is a screamer, true to stereotype, he's clearly no more than a thoroughly indoctrinated conscript. Two foot soldiers in search of a chicken are hopeless buffoons. It isn't until we meet the commanding officer, a handsome and seemingly intelligent man, that what has been violence-tinged farce turns into something much scarier and unpredictable.

The villagers do what they can to outwit their occupiers, but they eventually must confront war-induced pysychopathologies that are beyond the capacity of these noncombatants to deal with. Finally, as the film demonstrates, there is no particular justice even when enemies are vanquished. Look for the gum chewing GIs in the closing scenes who look on without comprehension as wartime atrocities continue long after the war is over. Director Steven Soderbergh provides an appreciative introduction at the start of the film, and it's worth watching again after the film is over. Given the scope and the execution of the film, he regards it as a masterpiece. Though the theme of the film is familiar, it's hard to disagree with him.

For about an hour and 45 minutes--this film is pretty funny--considering the subject matter--but in the last half hour--there is a real change in the atmosphere. That said-I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Real short and simple--a Japanese soldier and a Chinese interpretor are delivered in bags for safekeeping-though the man who is supposed to return for them on New Years-never returns--creating a quandry as to what should be done with them. Not wanting to "spoil" this movie--a decision as to their fate is finally reached--which leads to a horrific conclusion.
All in all--a great movie--despite the transition in the "feel" of the movie for the last half hour!
Mandarin and Japanese with subtitles in English. For the sensitive--there is a bit of profanity and one scene in particular may be tough for younger viewers (involves a young Chinese boy who's learned a phrase in Japanese)

A simple Chinese village occupied by Japanese forces toward the end of world war II. A not so simple situation lands on the doorstep of one of the chinese villagers where family and friends get into a stir determining how best to handle the situation. As the intensity builds so to the dangerous threat of discovery and death.

The movie is brilliantly shot and perfect in its characterization of a proud sumurai class occupying the land of humble superstitious peasants. There's irony, humor, honor and cruelty wrapped inside this wonderful movie. It seemed to me that the movie was a bit drawn out, but I caught it while home sick in bed with a stomach flu. The ending is well worth the drawn out intensity.

"Devils on the door step" takes place during a time of war. I'm always moved by seeing how war and marching armies throughout history effect the plain and humble citizens of the world. This is one such story.

4.5 stars