OK, OK. So the Japanese did horrible experiments on Russians and Chinese during the pre- WW2 and WW2 era. But this film is a poor excuse for a documentary of that era. No actual footage of the experiments are extant, and all the re-creations in this film are very poorly done, especially for a 2008 film!
I really don't understand why this director (and I use the title very grudgingly!) bothered to make this film.
Most of this film is falling snow, actors staring melodramatically at each other and the camera, shots of hallways, and standard diagrams of medical instruments and surgical procedures. I suppose these scenes are some artsy attempt to build tension or an atmosphere of menace and despair; but they fail at all of these purposes miserably!
I fell asleep several times during the incessantly repeated long periods of symbolism and silent melodrama between the actual heinous acts of experimentation! The director seemed more intent on spending lots of time on repeating over and over his own symbolic expressionism and giving his few lousy actors plenty of camera exposure as they stare at one another and into the camera.
Close-ups of actors' eyes and faces, snow falling in blizzards outdoors, empty hallways, doorways, etc. ad nauseum!
What a colossal bore, and a narcissistic insult to the memory of the people to whom this film is supposedly dedicated!
One scene really puzzled me: the first atrocity that is dramatized in this film is the surgical removal of a Russian woman's unborn child. It reminded me very much of a modern abortion, which is legal in the US and most of Europe, except here the child is removed surgically instead of being poisoned in-utero and vacuumed out vaginally. The film seemed to make much of the body of the dead infant as it was removed and thrown into a specimen tray; this same heinous act against humanity is performed thousands of times legally every day in so-called "civilized" countries throughout the world. Other than the woman's consent, there is little difference between what the Japanese experimenters do and what modern-day abortionists do. So why should this scene even be worth inclusion?
The special effects are very phony and done with lots of putty, latex, and camera tricks that are about as new as Orson Welles and Citizen Kane.
A very poorly done effort at film-making in general, and a narcissistic slight against the memory of the people victimized.
What a snore!
I really don't understand why this director (and I use the title very grudgingly!) bothered to make this film.
Most of this film is falling snow, actors staring melodramatically at each other and the camera, shots of hallways, and standard diagrams of medical instruments and surgical procedures. I suppose these scenes are some artsy attempt to build tension or an atmosphere of menace and despair; but they fail at all of these purposes miserably!
I fell asleep several times during the incessantly repeated long periods of symbolism and silent melodrama between the actual heinous acts of experimentation! The director seemed more intent on spending lots of time on repeating over and over his own symbolic expressionism and giving his few lousy actors plenty of camera exposure as they stare at one another and into the camera.
Close-ups of actors' eyes and faces, snow falling in blizzards outdoors, empty hallways, doorways, etc. ad nauseum!
What a colossal bore, and a narcissistic insult to the memory of the people to whom this film is supposedly dedicated!
One scene really puzzled me: the first atrocity that is dramatized in this film is the surgical removal of a Russian woman's unborn child. It reminded me very much of a modern abortion, which is legal in the US and most of Europe, except here the child is removed surgically instead of being poisoned in-utero and vacuumed out vaginally. The film seemed to make much of the body of the dead infant as it was removed and thrown into a specimen tray; this same heinous act against humanity is performed thousands of times legally every day in so-called "civilized" countries throughout the world. Other than the woman's consent, there is little difference between what the Japanese experimenters do and what modern-day abortionists do. So why should this scene even be worth inclusion?
The special effects are very phony and done with lots of putty, latex, and camera tricks that are about as new as Orson Welles and Citizen Kane.
A very poorly done effort at film-making in general, and a narcissistic slight against the memory of the people victimized.
What a snore!