City of Life and Death

City of Life and Death is a 2009 Chinese and Hong Kong war drama set in 1937, as Japanese forces take Nanjing, then the capital of the Republic of China. Chinese troops who did not withdraw are left disorganized, some wanting to surrender and others determined to resist, and the city falls after bombardment. What follows is the period known as the Nanjing Massacre, in which large numbers of Chinese soldiers and civilians are killed. The film follows several figures on both sides of the occupation, including a Chinese officer, a young Japanese soldier named Kadokawa, and civilians and foreigners trying to survive, among them people connected to a safety zone established in the Jinling Women's College.

Lu Chuan directed and wrote the film. It followed his earlier features The Missing Gun and Mountain Patrol, and came before Beginning of the Great Revival, Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe, Born in China and Bureau 749. The cast includes Liu Ye, Gao Yuanyuan, Hideo Nakaizumi, John Paisley, Beverly Peckous and Fan Wei. Produced with a budget of about 12 million dollars, it took roughly 11 million dollars worldwide.

On IMDb the film holds 7.7 out of 10 from around 12,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 out of 10 from 248 votes. A critics' rating of 8.4 out of 10 across 53 reviews places it above both audience scores.