Movie brings reality of WWII torture victims to light

Captured and tortured, the victims of Japan's Unit 731 endured unimaginable horrors. Now, their long-buried stories are finally being brought to light for international audiences.

On Sept 18, the Chinese World War II film 731, also known as Evil Unbound, made its debut in New York. The movie recounts the harrowing true story of the Imperial Japanese Army's Unit 731, officially known as the 731st Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Unit.

"Let light and shadow become evidence of history; let the cinema become a courtroom of justice. Every audience member is a judge — holding court for justice," said director Zhao Linshan during the premiere in Harbin, Heilongjiang province on Sept 17.

"It was one of the darkest moments in human history. We look back in remembrance not to reopen painful wounds, but to let the light of peace shine on the journey of human civilization," he added.

Established in Pingfang district of Harbin, Unit 731 committed atrocious war crimes by conducting lethal human experiments on Chinese civilians to develop chemical and biological weapons under the false pretense of preventing and curing disease and water purification. The record shows at least 3,000 people were killed by Unit 731, and more than 300,000 people in China were killed by the Japanese Army's biological weapons.

The movie follows Wang Yongzhang, a local vendor, along with other civilians who were captured by the Japanese and then deceived by false promises of freedom in exchange for cooperating with disease prevention and scientific research, only to become subjects of brutal human experiments, including frostbite testing, gas exposure and vivisection.

"Actually, most of us learn about these events through news or books. This time, the director's team probably went through a lot of historical documents to accurately recreate the past. It made the story more vivid on screen, showing us the various ways the Japanese army brutally harmed our fellow citizens and friends from other countries. I think this serves as a very valuable lesson," said Zhao Yihan, a graduate student from Cornell University.

"I want to go home and educate myself on that now … I'm realizing there's a huge part of history. I just need to know more about it," said Julie Flandreau, a French Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University. Having grown up in France and Switzerland, she said a lot of WWII history was taught in the classroom, but "the specific roles of Japan weren't mentioned so much."

Like Flandreau, Jonathan Alvarez, a manager with Well Go USA Entertainment from Dallas, Texas, noted that his own education on Japan's role in WWII focused primarily on the Pearl Harbor attack.

"I think international cinema is always important. It's always great to see different world views and learn the true history of other countries and how it relates back to our own," he said.

Flandreau said that sharing historical stories helps keep memories alive and that media can be a great way to teach new generations about the past.

"I think the more time that passes, the more sheer likelihood there is that people not will forget, but that it's kept less alive as more horrible history piles on … I think that it's always interesting to have movies that shed light on a prior historical moment. I think it's always relevant," she said.

731 follows the huge success of Dead to Rights, another Chinese WWII movie, centered on the Nanjing Massacre, that made it to the global stage. Dead to Rights was released on July 25 in China, by mid-August the box office had surpassed 2.2 billion yuan ($308 million).

"In recent years, these kinds of films have become even more popular, and the subject matter is getting more attention and coverage worldwide. I think that's a good thing," said Zhao, who enjoys watching movies of this genre.

He added, "they truly show us that, at the time, people had no choice — they were forced to endure unimaginable atrocities. These films have also gained recognition internationally, serving as a reminder of the importance of cherishing peace."

The film is available to audiences across China on Sept 18, the 94th anniversary of the September 18th Incident, when Japanese troops began an invasion in Northeast China.

In addition to its release in the US, it will also be hitting theaters in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in China. Plans are also underway for its release in Germany, France, the UK, Russia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The film ends, but one line endures: "If you remember, I have truly lived."