john rabe ( film )
john rabe is the clear favourite for this year' s german film awards after picking up seven nominations including best film, and best director for florian gallenberger .
ulrich tukur (centre) in city of war: the story of john rabe .
actor ulrich tukur and director florian gallenberger attend the' john rabe' ...
a gray zone: john rabe (ulrich tukur, second from left) surveys the damage wrought by invading japanese troops in a scene from florian gallenberger' s john rabe .
do you agree with the idea to make a film about john rabe? please include your full name and country with any reply .
actor steve buscemi attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin ...
actress anne consigny attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin ...
john rabe is expected to be widely viewed in china after it premieres at the shanghai film festival in june. but it is unclear whether the film will be released in japanese cinemas .
letter from john rabe, chair of safety zone, to mr. hidaka of the japanese embassy
actors ulrich tukur and dagmar manzel attends the' john rabe' photocall during the ...
actors steve buscemi and anne consigny attends the' john rabe' photocall during the ...
florian gallenberger, whose film “john rabe” is based on a true story of the courage of a siemens executive during the 1937 nanjing massacre, told reuters his film could also, belatedly, shed light on rabe’s long - overlooked heroism .
was born in munich in 1972. he studied at the renowned university of television and film in munich. with his thesis film quiero ser (2000) gallenberger received the honorary foreign film award at the student academy awards® and an academy award® for best live action short film. his debut feature shadows of time (2004) won the bavarian film award for best new director. his second feature, john rabe (2009) premiered at the berlin international film festival and received two bavarian film awards and four german film awards, including best film. his third feature film, colonia (2015) received the bavarian film award for best film and was nominated for five german film awards. gallenberger is also a professor at the university of television and film in munich .
drawn from rabe' s diaries, the film is rich in telling and ironic details .
the film' s director florian gallenberger says it was by staying true to the events as described by rabe that the film achieved neutrality .
a gray zone: john rabe (ulrich tukur, second from left) surveys the damage wrought by invading japanese troops in a scene from florian gallenberger' s john rabe. strand releasing hide caption
the director and major cast members of
john rabe
will travel to china for the film' s asia premiere in beijing on april 28 .
pose with guests as they attend the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on ...
“i have to admit to my great shame that before starting this project i didn’t know anything about john rabe either, ” gallenberger said after his film’s well - received world premiere at the berlin film festival .
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing john rabe near you .
“it’s taken more than 70 years for john rabe to get the recognition he deserves, ” he said .
john rabe
has garnered seven nominations for the german film awards, dubbed the german oscars, in categories such as best film, best director, best actor, best cinematography which will disclose on friday .
the film premiered at the 2016 telluride film festival. the frame host john horn spoke with monro then about why he chose to focus on this part of lewis’ career .
letter from john rabe to shanghai nanking relief association, attn: rev. p. f. price, chairman
berlin - -
john rabe ,
florian gallenberger' s true story of
china' s oskar schindler ,
was the big winner of the 2009 german film awards, winning four lolas, including best film .
actor steve buscemi attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
actress anne consigny attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
on christmas eve in 1937, german businessman john rabe visited the mortuary in china' s then capital, nanjing .
letter from john rabe, chair of safety zone, to mr. tokuyasu fukuda, an attaché to the japanese embassy
the two competing projects opened last year in china, and the 700 - print release of
john rabe
was the largest opening of a german film outside of germany .
actor steve buscemi and director florian gallenberger attend the john rabe photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
shelter under the swastika: the john rabe story in 1937, john rabe - - a native of germany and a member of the nazi party - - helped to save the lives of thousands of chinese civilians during the rape of nanking. now he' s the subject of an eponymous movie. reporter pat dowell sits down with john rabe director florian gallenberger and co - star steve buscemi to discuss the making of the film, rabe' s legacy and history' s gray areas .
actors ulrich tukur and dagmar manzel attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
actors steve buscemi and anne consigny attends the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
the film' s producers hope that the involvement of japanese star teruyuki kagawa will prevent the film from being silenced there .
actor ulrich tukur and director florian gallenberger attend the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
the film' s nominations include best film, best director for florian gallenberger and a best actor mention for star ulrich tukur .
watch the trailer in high definition on apple. john rabe will hit theaters in new york city and los angeles on may 21st .
john rabe wanders farther from plausibility as it continues, introducing a japanese officer who warns of an imminent raid on the safety zone, and ultimately contriving a triumphant send - off for rabe .
the diaries of this unlikely and unsung hero only became public knowledge in the late 1990s, when they were published in germany. they have now been made into a film, simply titled john rabe .
it' s worth seeing this feature about the heroic figure of john rabe, even though the movie leaves much to be desired dramatically .
john rabe was a german businessman who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the japanese army during the nanking massacre .
gallenberger' s film ,
john rabe ,
which stars ulrich tukur, steve buscemi and daniel brühl, was filmed entirely in china and has an epic, old - fashioned sweep. and although it can' t match rabe' s true heroism, the story behind the making of the film is the stuff of intrigue as well .
strand releasing has released the official us trailer for florian gallenberger ‘s historical drama john rabe. the film tells the true - story of a german businessman who saved more than 200, 000 chinese during the 1937 nanjing massacre. german actor ulrich tukur (the white ribbon) stars as john rabe, alongside daniel brühl (inglourious basterds), steve buscemi, anne consigny, jingchu zhang, and teruyuki kagawa. the film won the outstanding feature film, best costume design, best production design and best performance by an actor in a leading role at the german film awards .
from oscar winner caroline link, took the runner - up silver best film lola as well as the film music nod for composer niki reiser .
german - chinese co - production plans john rabe movie | culture | arts, music and lifestyle reporting from germany | dw | 27. 09. 2007
a wonderful movie full of suspense. during world war 11, when evil was rampant, diplomat john rabe saved many chinese people from being killed by the japanese invasion. the acting was wonderful. i really emotionally got involved with this movie .
john rabe
shows that one humane person can make a difference .
movie review -' john rabe' - in a grim nanking, false notes of hope during the second sino - japanese war, german businessman john rabe (ulrich tukur) leads a committee of foreigners who help save chinese citizens from japanese war crimes. florian gallenberger' s film delivers an artful look at the nanking massacre, but disappoints when it comes to fleshing out the lives of its samaritans .
controversially, the film speculates on his involvement in the decision - making process .
if you haven' t heard of john rabe, you' re not alone. the director who made a film about
the oskar schindler of china
hadn' t heard of him either. florian gallenberger first knew of rabe when a producer who had the rights to his story approached him with the project .
a serious, large - budget treatment of rabe' s exploits and a moving, terrific film about trying to maintain one' s decency amidst horrors .
ulrich tukur (center, bald with gray coat and glasses) stars as the title character ,
john rabe ,
a german / chinese co - production directed by florian gallenberger. the film also stars steve buscemi (behind... more
( 3r) and dagmar manzel (2r) pose with director florian gallenberger (r) as they attend the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in ...
coming to light nearly 60 years after the event, he says that john rabe' s diaries are a powerful new document detailing what happened day - by - day .
berlin — florian gallenberger’s wwii drama “john rabe, ” the true story of a german industrialist who saved 200, 000 chinese during the japanese invasion of nanjing, leads the pack among this year’s nominees for the german film awards, also known as the lolas .
steve buscemi, ulrich tukur, dagmar manzel, director florian gallenberger and anne consigny pose with guests as they attend the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
from the outset of “john rabe” you are uncomfortably aware of watching a wartime melodrama that, despite its honorable intentions, will throw in any emotional ploy to keep you engaged .
in addition to john rabe, best film nominations were bestowed on uli edel' s the baader meinhof complex, ozgur yildirim' s chiko, christian petzold' s jerichow, andreas dresen' s cloud 9 and caroline link' s a year ago in winter .
berlin - -
john rabe ,
a historic biopic about the german businessman who saved 200, 000 chinese civilians from the nanking massacre, is the front - runner for this year' s german film awards - - or lolas - - with seven nominations .
the moviegoer is a regular column on new and noteworthy films, actors and directors by john anderson .
in december 1937, he set up the nanjing international safety zone committee with a group of foreign friends, which saved hundreds of thousands of local residents in one month during the notorious massacre. rabe sheltered thousands of chinese refugees in his own house over the course of the massacre and protected them from being killed. the announcement of the film comes just weeks after the john rabe house development fund was set up in nanjing as part of the 3 - year - long
germany and china - - moving ahead together
campaign. the charitable fund will seek to generate revenue to support the john rabe and international safety zone memorial hall, and john rabe international research and exchange center for peace and reconciliation .
actors steve buscemi (3r) and dagmar manzel (2r) pose with director florian gallenberger (r) as they attend the' john rabe' photocall during the 59th berlin international film festival at the grand hyatt hotel on february 6, 2009 in berlin, germany .
gallenberger, whose film cost about 18 million euros ($ 23 million) to make, said there have been other films made about rabe in china. but because rabe’s story was misused for propaganda purposes, the world never really took notice before .
david denby has been a staff writer and film critic at the new yorker since 1998 .
the battle of wills between lavrentiy beria and nikita khrushchev propels the film’s most pointed satire .
john rabe: starts next friday at the presidio theatre, 2340 chestnut st. , s. f. (415) 776 - 2388. urltoken; and the rialto cinemas elmwood ,
rg 8: box 141 folder 15: mills, w. plumer - correspondence to family march 9 - 20, 1938 letter of h. maxcy smith incl. talk by john rabe
prior to watching this file, i have read john rabe' s diary as well as iris chang' s the rape of nanking. i have also watched many documentaries and movies made about the subject from china as well as from the us. i found this film to be one of better film on this subject than most of the other ones in existence today. the film is based primarily on the actual diary of john rabe. certain details were filled - in by the excellent and exhaustive work of iris chang' s the rape of nanking. the importance of john rabe' s diary as opposed to the other accounts of what happened during the massacred is the fact that john rabe was a german nazi party member that was working for siemen in china. germany was an allied of japan at the time and there would have been no reason for john rabe to have lied about atrocities committed by the japanese if it did not actually happened. also since john was mainly writing this as a personal diary for himself, there does not seem to be any reason for him to have exaggerated his description of the event. as a result, his diary is probably the credible historical account of the what actually happened in nanking. i found some the chinese version of the film on the subject seemed a little removed from the complex character interactions between most of these reluctant heroes of war. as a result, those movies does not seem quite as genuine and touching as this film. most the events from this film seems very accurate or at least true to the overall sense of john rabe' s diary. obviously some of the atrocities had to be consolidated to be able to fit those events into a slightly over two hour film. but one of the most puzzling inaccuracy of the film was the fictional character valérie dupres at the international girls college. why was it necessary for the film to use a fictional character' s name instead of the actual courageous heroine minnie vaultrin from the ginling girls college. she had done so much during the massacred that it seems unfair to not use her real name in the film. this is my primary reason for not giving this film a perfect 10. if anyone can provide an explanation as to why minnie vaultrin name was not used in this film, i really would appreciate it .
wilson, as portrayed in the film, is skeptical about rabe' s sincerity but grows to respect him. in his letters, wilson marveled that such a good man as rabe could remain a supporter of adolf hitler. rabe wrote to hitler, convinced that he would intervene to help the chinese civilians. he never received a reply .
one of the main virtues of john rabe is to demonstrate that, however much we know about the worst of all wars, it still has little - known corners that can amaze us .
rabe' s home in downtown nanjing, meanwhile, has been restored and turned into a museum called the john rabe memorial hall, which commemorates the work of the international safety zone committee that he headed. it opened in 2006 and also houses a research center for peace .
rabe was an electrical equipment executive in nanjing, then the national capital of china .
from papers of minnie vautrin, in record groups no. 8 and 11, and film ms62
chang' s book and the rabe diaries, which were both published in the late 1990s, have sparked a resurgence of interest in the massacre - - and in rabe .
the story of john rabe, a german businessman who saved 200, 000 chinese civilians from the nanking massacre of 1937, also won lolas for star ulrich tukur, art direction, and costume design .
an impressive film, with a careful and emotive story... [ full review in spanish ]
however, despite being the most commercially successful of the best film nominees, went home empty handed .
“they wanted to screen the film, ” gallenberger says, “which i thought was right on. ”
berlin - - germans don' t have many feel - good movie stories about world war ii, so the world premiere of
john rabe
at the berlinale is certainly cause for local celebration. even though he was a member of the nazi party, john rabe was, as the german title of his published diaries suggests ,
the good german of nanking .
the middle - aged, balding rabe is his country' s oskar schindler, a man who could not abandon his conscience .
a good german: industrialist john rabe (ulrich tukur, center left, with steve buscemi, anne consigny and daniel bruhl) helps shelter chinese civilians from japanese invaders in 1930s nanking. strand releasing hide caption
john rabe, a german businessman saved thousands of chinese from japanese soldiers during wwii. dw - world. de spoke with erwin wickert, the editor of his diaries. (11. 11. 2006 )
official plot synopsis: based on a true story, john rabe tells the story of a german businessman who rescued more than 200, 000 civilians during the so—called “nanking massacre” in china. drawing from john rabe’s 1937 diaries as source material, academy award ® winner florian gallenberger has crafted a portrait of a man revered as a saint in china to this day and yet never rewarded for his courage during his lifetime .
a daily chronicle of creativity in film, tv, music, arts and entertainment produced by southern california public radio. host john horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation' s most plugged - in cultural journalists .
german film director florian gallenberger is seen in san francisco, calif. on tuesday june 22, 2010 .
production: a majestic filmverleih release of a hofmann & voges entertainment, eos entertainment, majestic filmproduktion production, in association with zdf, pampa prod. , huayi brothers, lunaris film & fernsehproduktion. (international sales: beta cinema, oberhaching, germany .) produced by mischa hofmann, benjamin herrmann, jan mojto. executive producer, caroline von senden. co - producers, nicolas traube, wang zhongjun, wang zhonglei. directed, written by florian gallenberger, inspired by john rabe’s diaries published as “john rabe: der gute deutsche von nanjing. ”
john rabe is a movie starring ulrich tukur, daniel brühl, and steve buscemi. a true - story account of a german businessman who saved more than 200, 000 chinese during the nanjing massacre in 1937 - 38 .
the german actor ulrich tukur, now appearing as the reluctantly heroic title character of the historical drama “john rabe, ” has a 1930s fixation. “he wears clothes from the ’30s, ” says his director, florian gallenberger. “he has that aesthetic, the slightly too - short trousers, the cuts of his suits; he loves the music of the ’30s. he fits the time. and he really looks like the real john rabe. ”
there are intense scenes of crossfire in the film, but the way lu focuses on humanity is more breathtaking .
christina choe’s brand of art - film hopelessness is vain, deriving from a fetishizing of “keeping it real. ”
with: ulrich tukur (john rabe), daniel brühl (dr. georg rosen), anne consigny (valérie duprès), dagmar manzel (dora rabe), zhang jingchu (langshu), teruyuki kagawa (prince asaka yasuhiko), mathias herrmann (werner fliess) and steve buscemi (dr. robert wilson) .
opens 5 / 21 at quad cinema in nyc and 6 / 4 at laemmle theatres in los angeles based on a true story, john rabe tells the story of a german businessman who rescued more than 200, 000 civilians during the so - called nanking massacre in china. drawing from john rabes 1937 diaries as source material, academy award ® winner florian gallenberger has crafted a portrait of a man revered as a saint in china to this day and yet never rewarded for his courage during his lifetime. an official selection at the berlin film festival. winner of 4 golden lolas, germany' s top film prize, for best film, best actor, best costume and best production design .
mr kirby says that rabe had
no anti - japanese axe to grind
at the outset .
rabe, born in hamburg in 1882, was a business representative for siemens in nanking from 1931 .
the scene was suggested by historical photos that showed the real rabe using the nazi flag to construct makeshift shelters for the more than 600 chinese refugees who camped out at his house and in his garden after the japanese army took over nanjing. this paradoxical image - - the swastika as refuge - - fascinates john rabe director florian gallenberger .
gallenberger, it turns out, was a perfect choice to direct
john rabe .
like its hero, he' s a man who seems most at home in foreign lands. the 38 - year - old munich native got his start directing a short film in mexico ,
quiero ser (i want to be ...) ,
which won an academy award. his next film was set in india, where he spent two years .
following in the hollywood footsteps of world war ii nazi - turned - hero oskar schindler, fellow third reich follower john rabe is to be the subject of a new $ 20 million (14. 2 million euro) tinseltown blockbuster .
legal document by chairman of board of university of nanking, john w decker, giving bates power of attorney for u. of nanking
ulrich tukur (center, bald with gray coat and glasses) stars as the title character ,
john rabe ,
a german / chinese co - production directed by florian gallenberger. the film also stars steve buscemi (behind tukur), anne consigny (behind buscemi) and danielbruhl (in black coat and mustache, next to buscemi). less
berlin — florian gallenberger’s wwii drama “john rabe, ” the true story of a german industrialist who saved 200, 000 chinese during the japanese invasion of nanjing, leads the pack among this year’s nominees for the german film awards, also known as the lolas. pic, which was filmed on location in nanjing and shanghai, garnered seven nominations, [ … ]
he says rabe' s courage was fuelled by his sense of morality, rather than any political conviction .
john rabe was an ordinary german businessman in china when the japanese invaded nanking in 1937. nearly 70 years later, a memorial was dedicated to the
good german
who saved thousands of chinese lives. (08. 11. 2006 )
hundreds of thousands in the city sought shelter in a safety zone set up by foreign businessmen, doctors and educators - - and it' s the story of that effort to shelter civilians that' s at the center of the cinematic drama john rabe .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
“it’s an extremely controversial subject in japan and there are fears there could be severe repercussions. i hope the film won’t be silenced in japan. i’d very much hope this film could help get an opening - up of discussion going in japan. ”
john rabe was a real german businessman who lived in nanking, now called nanjing; for decades, he managed the operations of the siemens company there. a member of the nazi party, rabe had never been to hitler' s germany or seen firsthand what was going on there; even so, he didn' t believe the mounting criticisms he heard about hitler. germany and japan were allies, and in the film, when japanese planes first bomb the city, rabe and his workers unfurl a giant nazi flag like a canopy over their heads, in hopes the japanese pilots will spare them .
based on a true story ,
john rabe
is an epic world war ii saga, telling of horror and mass murder on the other side of the globe. it is december 1937 and we are made witness to the rape of nanking in which approximately 300, 000 chinese citizens were brutally massacred by the japanese with a wink and a nod from the nazis. we witness this horror through the eyes of john rabe, the manager of the siemens plant in nanking. integrating multiple languages and real news footage, this is a masterfully crafted film, deserving of high praise. while difficult to watch, it is worthy of your attention .
it is a tale of a true hero, even if in its minor details it' s less than entirely true. for a movie with ambitions as big as
john rabe ,
that doesn' t just make it good. that makes it epic .
there are many powerful moments, including a mass beheading, before the film turns into a sappy, frank capra - esque affair .
like shindler' s list, this is a difficult film to watch due to the accuracy with which the japanese atrocities are portrayed .
with its solid performances and sweeping set pieces in which japanese planes swoop through the streets like mad, fire - spitting bats, “john rabe, ” has its visceral moments. but it is also burdened by manipulative clichés of a screenplay in which exposition outweighs character development. inspired by rabe’s diaries, from which short excerpts are read, it tells the story almost exclusively from a western point of view .
the film also picked up nominations for best lead actor for ulrich tukur, best supporting actor steve buscemi and best cinematography for juergen juerges .
…a straightforward narrative and handsomely designed, big - scale production. drawn from rabe' s diaries, the film is rich in telling and ironic details. a formidable actor who came to international attention in the 2005 best foreign film oscar winner
the lives of others
as a staunch stasi official, tukur has a quietly galvanic presence — and even resembles the actual rabe, who died in poverty in berlin in 1950, his humanitarianism not honored in germany until 2003. ” (kevin thomas – los angeles times )
rabe had worked in china for siemens for 30 years and was about to return to the headquarters in berlin when the invasion began. as germany and japan were allies, rabe used his nazi party membership and did all he could to protect the civilians .
the german director florian gallenberger has made rabe the central figure in an old - fashioned historical epic that covers much of the same territory as the 2007 documentary “nanking, ” in which rabe (pronounced rah - bay) is mentioned. because its hero was a “good nazi” who courageously acted on his humanitarian impulses, “john rabe” has a lot in common with “schindler’s list. ” but despite its gruesome scenes of hundreds of chinese prisoners of war being lined up and executed and its ostentatious shots of severed heads, the movie is less than indelible .
in theaters: may 21st, 2010 genre: drama, foreign based on a true story, john rabe tells the story of a german businessman who rescued more than 200, 000 civilians during the so—called nanking massacre in china. drawing from john rabes 1937 diaries as source material, academy award ® winner florian gallenberger has crafted a portrait of a man revered as a saint in china to this day and yet never rewarded for his courage during his lifetime .
the film will open nationwide on april 29, building on momentum from its successful test screenings in major cities like beijing, shanghai and guangzhou .
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some films are all about fun, and escapism, and some - not so much. such is the case with john rabe, which has just started shooting in shanghai, a story based around the horrific nanjing massacre in 1937 when japanese forces invaded and pillaged the chinese city of nanjing, leaving between 150, 000 and 300, 000 people dead. but despite its sombre premise, the film has attracted a rather impressive international cast .
a historical horror story from the 1930s, john rabe could have been made in that decade. the movie, named for a german industrialist who helped save perhaps 250, 000 chinese civilians from rampaging japanese troops, melds stark reality and sentimental fiction in a style that lost its edge decades ago .
the german actor ulrich tukur brings an understated intensity and psychological depth to the title role of “john rabe, ” a sweeping historical film that exalts a largely unsung real - life hero who risked his life to do the right thing. rabe, a nazi german industrialist stationed in china, is credited with saving the lives of more than 200, 000 chinese during the infamous 1937 massacre in nanking (now nanjing) in the second sino - japanese war. in a matter of weeks, the japanese slaughtered at least 200, 000 civilians and prisoners of war and committed mass rape .
teruyuki kagawa says :
when faced with this film, many people will be shocked [ to learn ] the japanese carried out such cruel acts .
not that it will matter to most audiences. who the heck is john rabe? “i hadn’t heard of this guy, ” gallenberger admits. but it’s not the same in china: credited with having saved 250, 000 people during the so - called rape of nanking, rabe is revered there, even though the entire incident — in which invading japanese troops in 1937 committed wholesale atrocities — has long been problematic on a multinational level .
letter from lewis smythe to dr. g rosen, german embassy, mr. e. w. jeffery, british embassy and mr. john m. allison, american embassy
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
as sharply as it delineates an america of spotty, informal economies, the film avoids articulating most of the people who live and work in these spaces .
for the most part, though, the film’s story is one of heroism in the face of potentially deadly circumstances. in itself, this is not necessarily an objectionable premise for a film and my point is not to suggest that rabe and his compatriots weren’t heroic, but when the film ends with the chinese people cheering that man’s final advance, while his colleagues toast him with a round of “for he’s a jolly good fellow, ” it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that as many chinese lost their lives in nanking as were saved, while rabe was free to sail comfortably home—even if his future remained uncertain and his heroism wasn’t always recognized. there are, as always, a nearly infinite number of possible lines of inquiry to pursue when crafting a film about a historical event and rabe as a real - life figure certainly deserves his recognition. but a movie that sentimentalizes that figure’s heroism while presenting the chinese as ciphers defined only through their victimhood is probably not the strategy likely to yield the most salutary cinematic results .
written and directed by florian gallenberger, based on the diaries of john rabe; director of photography, jürgen jürges; edited by hansjörg weissbrich; music by laurent petitgirard and annette focks; production designer, tu juhua; costumes by lisy christl; produced by mischa hofmann, jan mojto and benjamin herrmann; released by strand releasing. at the quad cinema, 34 west 13th street, greenwich village. running time: 2 hours 10 minutes. this film is not rated .
after 28 years building and managing a vast siemens plant in nanking, john rabe is ordered by the new nazi regime to close it down. before he can pack, the japanese army, lead unofficially by a bloodthirsty imperial uncle, lays siege to the city. rabe accepts, as prominent representative of japans' major european ally, to head the western ex - pats society' s plan to start and run an international zone, like worked in shangai. rabe however wants it to save his workers and their close ones, over 200, 000, and sacrifices all his personal interests .
buscemi came to the project close to the start of shooting in october 2007. gallenberger had already been working on the film for nearly three years, trying to negotiate his way through various chinese ministries to get permits to shoot his film in china. gallenberger couldn' t imagine shooting anywhere else, he says .
moody and diabetic, rabe initially clashes with robert wilson (steve buscemi), a cynical american doctor on the committee who despises rabe’s nazi associations. but by the end of a drunken evening together, they are both singing the “colonel bogey march” with scabrous anti - hitler lyrics .
in 1937, japanese army has just captured the capital of the china, nanjing. what followed was known as the nanking massacre, or the rape of nanking, a period of several weeks wherein tens of thousands of chinese were killed. the film tells the story of several figures, both historical and fictional, including a chinese soldier, a schoolteacher, a japanese soldier, a foreign missionary, and john rabe, a nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of chinese civilians
reviewed online, chicago, jan. 20, 2015. (in 2015 tribeca film festival .) mpaa rating: r. running time: 93 min .
he stumbled across a white - haired man in his 80s who turned out to have been sheltered in rabe' s house during the massacre .
john rabe
is a very glossy and well done film about the actions of rabe and a few other foreigners in saving as many of the residents of nanking as they could during the japanese invasion. the airplane attacks and look of the film were absolutely great - - and the film is well worth seeing. i am very familiar with the story of john rabe and used to teach my world history students about him and the japanese destruction of nanking (i have since retired). much of what i' d learned were from the book
the rape of nanking
as well as several well made documentaries. so, i am not the typical person watching the story for the first time - - i am a bit tougher to please. because of this, i am much more critical that average and to me, the story was flawed because it actually seemed very sanitized. in other words, while the film did show some of the japanese atrocities, it didn' t do much - - probably because it would nauseate most viewers. but, by doing so, it minimized the evil that was perpetrated here - - making the japanese troops seem almost normal. it' s rare, but i would have included much more blood and talked much more about the rapes and murder of children. evil must not be minimized and here it just didn' t seem as sadistic and wrong as the rape of nanking was .
china was in flames when a german businessman became a reluctant hero. when the imperial japanese army invaded china in 1937 and attacked the civilian population of the capital nanking with unprecedented inhumanity, john rabe took action. along with a few other members of the foreign community including doctors and missionaries who remained in the city, he created a safety zone in which a quarter of a million civilians survived what was later to go down in history as the
nanking massacre
. john rabe had become long forgotten by the time his diaries were rediscovered ten years ago. they now form the basis for florian gallenberger' s fascinating account of what john rabe, then head of siemens china co. , did in those turbulent times. to this day he is still revered in china, but he has never been commended, much less rewarded, for his courage and decency in his own country. upon his return to germany in 1938, he was arrested by the gestapo for collaborating with the chinese. he died in poverty soon after world war ii. the new york times recently referred to rabe as
the schindler of china
.
the film john rabe is movie about two things, both interesting, both unknown, and both controversial: the
good
nazi, and the rape of nanking. there have only been a few films about
good
nazis that i know of, although i' m sure there are others i' m missing, this film, seven years in tibet, and the 49th parallel. this alone makes this film interesting. but john rabe (the film) is also about the rape of nanking, the atrocities committed by the japanese military to the chinese people in the city of nanking. this also would be enough to make this movie interesting. so we have a movie with two interesting topics, but ultimately fails as a compelling work. why? the director pulled far too many punches in regards to the violence of nanking. maybe i' m a little hardened by watching films, but there was nothing about this movie that jumped out at me and drove home the lawlessness and violence of the japanese occupation of nanking. there is no way to show this and be discreet. the middle of the film was crying for a lurid montage of gang rapes, flies on corpses, and the worst depravities you can think of. john rabe' s own diaries describe many of these, you wouldn' t have even had to think up any of your own and you could have had his character narrated the whole thing. the film fails in depicting the rape of nanking, but it also fails in depicting the good nazi too. the movie needed a moment, several years later, with john rabe confronting the nazi atrocities in wwii and comparing them with the japanese atrocities in nanking. we need to see him understand what his own people have done and what his membership in the nazi party truly means as a stain on his character. we needed to see him understand that and tear up his membership card or something. we, however, do not and the movie is much the poorer because of it. despite this, the movie is still beautifully shot, with good production value, limited but effective cgi, and wonderfully acted. the movie is ultimately frustratingly incomplete and is not the best that could have been done with the material, but it was enjoyable while it lasted .
production: hofmann & voges entertainment / eos entertainment / majestic filmsproduktion in association with zdf / pampa prods. / huayi brothers media corp. / lunaris film und fernsehproduktion
the chinese authorities eventually approved gallenberger' s project, although they pushed ahead with their own film on the nanking massacre ,
city of life and death .
rabe returned to nanjing, in a way. his remains were not preserved at his burial site in berlin, and all that remained was his tombstone. in 1997, it was removed to china and given a place of honor in the nanjing massacre memorial hall, where gallenberger saw it as he researched his film .
bruhl' s character feels like it was slipped in to deliver a german - jewish viewpoint, which leaves him less involved in the developing storyline. the same goes for dagmar manzel as rabe' s loyal wife, a character designed to up the fictional ante - - as if the film really needed more emotionalism .
when gallenberger' s film opened in china, it was the biggest release ever for a german film outside germany, he says. but the film has not been seen in japan, where the facts of the nanjing massacre - - including the number of victims, the size of the area in which killings are counted, even the number of days to be included by those measuring the massacre - - are still hotly debated among academics, politicians and political activists. gallenberger says he has been told that his film is banned in japan, but he thinks it' s just that
no distributor really has the guts to take it
because of the potential protests .
now with historical distance, the 37 - year - old director hopes the film will trigger a new dialogue and help japan also come to terms with its own past .
florian gallenberger’s “john rabe, ” an award - winner in germany, is not a great film, but it tells an affecting story of the second world war, and one virtually unknown in america. gallenberger’s hero, john rabe (ulrich tukur), was a german businessman and nazi party member who ran the siemens plant in nanking, china. in december, 1937, as the imperial japanese army approached the city, rabe, trading on his party membership and on the german - japanese alliance, and aided by a few other foreigners, including the american doctor robert wilson (steve buscemi), set up, with the imperial army’s grudging permission, a three - and - a - half - square - mile safety zone within the city. (before the invasion, some of rabe’s workers had literally hidden from an air raid under an enormous nazi flag spread out flat on the ground .) during the “rape of nanking, ” beginning in mid - december and continuing for six weeks, at least two hundred thousand chinese sheltered inside the zone, while the japanese occupiers murdered as many as three hundred thousand people in the city, many of them civilians .
rabe even wrote to adolf hitler asking for his intervention in the violence, as he believed the nazi leader would not have condoned japan' s actions .
this is an excellent film about one of the main persons who sought to prevent parts of the nanking massacre, perpetrated by japanese in late 1930' s and which is denied to this day by the japanese. they claim that the whole series of horrible events is a propaganda fiction set forth by the chinese government. one odd element in the film is that the persons who set up the
security / safety zone
were shown wearing armbands with a simple cross or x on a white background, when the reality is that john rabe was a nazi and invoked the protection of hitler and the arm bands worn carried the swastika. censorship or revisionism does not hurt the story of these evil events at all. definitely a
must see
along with the film, city of life and death: the nanking massacre, released in 2009. joseph mcgrory, philadelphia, usa
john rabe ends with its title character' s exit from nanjing in early 1938. the industrialist returned to germany, where he was arrested by the gestapo and forbidden to speak of the massacre. he died in 1950, lost to history until his china diaries were rediscovered by the late iris chang, doing research in the mid - 1990s for her book the rape of nanking. (gallenberger wrote the character of a young nanjing student photographer into his film as a tribute to chang' s fervent desire to document the massacre. )
based on actual events, john rabe tells the story of a german businessman who rescued more than 200, 000 chinese during the nanking massacre in china by courageously negotiating a safety zone to protect innocent civilians from the japanese army. drawing from john rabe s 1937 diaries as source material, academy award® winner florian gallenberger has crafted a portrait of a man revered as a saint in china to this day and yet never rewarded for his courage during his lifetime. ulrich tukur (the white ribbon, the lives of others) heads an all - star cast including daniel bruhl (inglorious basterds), anne consigny (the diving bell and the butterfuly) and golden globe nominee® steve buscemi (ghost world, the big lebowski) .
after living in china for 30 years, rabe had a naive image of germany' s national socialism as a humanistic workers' movement, says mr gallenberger .
rabe, a german businessman and nazi, was part of a group of expatriates who set up a safety zone for chinese refugees in the japanese city of nanking during the slaughter of at least 150, 000 chinese civilians and the rape of tens of thousands of women. filming of rabe' s story is expected to begin in the next few weeks and will be directed by german florian gallenberger, a student of director wim wenders and the winner of the best live action short film oscar in 2001. the film will be a chinese - german co - production between huayi brothers and hofmann and voges entertainment. there is no news at present as to who will play rabe in the screen adaptation of the german' s extensive diaries, which will be filmed in shanghai and nanjing, the modern name for nanking. hundreds of thousands saved
now we have the first fiction film about this event by one of the leading chinese directors, who contrives to tell it through the experiences of a drunken american mortician named john miller (christian bale). this man finds himself in nanking at the time, misses a chance to escape the city and ends up hiding out in a huge catholic cathedral, which is theoretically neutral ground .
uli edel' s golden globe and oscar - nominated terrorist drama
the baader meinhof complex
picked up four lola noms, including best film and best actress for johanna wokalek.
john rabe ( released in the united kingdom as city of war : the story of john rabe ) is a 2009 german-chinese-french biopictorial film directed by florian gallenberger and starring ulrich tukur , daniel brühl and steve buscemi . it focuses upon the experiences of john rabe , a german businessman who used his nazi party membership to create a protective international safety zone in nanking , china , helping to save over 200,000 chinese from the nanking massacre in late 1937 and early 1938 . the massacre and its associated atrocities were committed subsequent to the battle of nanking by the invading imperial japanese army after they defeated the chinese nationalist forces defending the city during the second sino-japanese war . based upon john rabe 's published wartime diaries , shooting for the film commenced in 2007 , and it premiered at the 59th berlin international film festival on 7 february 2009 . upon the film 's release it did not receive theatrical distribution in japan and was the subject of vociferous refutations by japanese ultranationalists who denied the events ever took place . 
john rabe (released in the united kingdom as city of war: the story of john rabe) is a 2009 german-chinese-french biopictorial film directed by florian gallenberger and starring ulrich tukur, daniel brühl and steve buscemi. it focuses upon the experiences of john rabe, a german businessman who used his nazi party membership to create a protective international safety zone in nanking, china, helping to save over 200,000 chinese from the nanking massacre in late 1937 and early 1938. the massacre and its associated atrocities were committed subsequent to the battle of nanking by the invading imperial japanese army after they defeated the chinese nationalist forces defending the city during the second sino-japanese war. based upon john rabe's published wartime diaries, shooting for the film commenced in 2007, and it premiered at the 59th berlin international film festival on 7 february 2009. upon the film's release it did not receive theatrical distribution in japan and was the subject of vociferous refutations by japanese ultranationalists who denied the events ever took place.
john rabe (released in the united kingdom as city of war: the story of john rabe) is a 2009 german-chinese-french biopictorial film directed by florian gallenberger and starring ulrich tukur, daniel brühl and steve buscemi. it focuses upon the experiences of john rabe, a german businessman who used his nazi party membership to create a protective international safety zone in nanking, china, helping to save over 200,000 chinese from the nanking massacre in late 1937 and early 1938. the massacre and its associated atrocities were committed subsequent to the battle of nanking by the invading imperial japanese army after they defeated the chinese nationalist forces defending the city during the second sino-japanese war. based upon john rabe's published wartime diaries, shooting for the film commenced in 2007, and it premiered at the 59th berlin international film festival on 7 february 2009. upon the film's release it did not receive theatrical distribution in japan and was the subject of vociferous refutations by japanese ultranationalists who denied the events ever took place.