DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP - DVD review

The Japanese occupation of Manchuria before and during World War II is a tense subject between the Chinese and Japanese. Most infamous is the "Rape of Nanking" where Japanese soldiers murdered and raped thousands upon thousands of Chinese civilians. The extent of the death toll is still debated by both sides. In the style of Ernest Lubitsch's "To Be or Not to Be" and Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful", writer/director/actor Jiang Wen deals with wartime atrocities using comedic touches with some frank harshness thrown in as well.

"Devils on the Doorstep" is set during World War II in a tiny village whose name is translated as "Rack-Armor Terrace", so-called because the founder was a former general who put away (or racked) his armor for a life of peace. Jiang Wen who has starred in Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" and the recent martial arts epic, "Warriors of Heaven and Earth", plays Ma Dasan who will find his life forever changed. An amorous night with his lover, Yu'Er (Jiang Hongbo), is interrupted by a knock on the door by someone only answering as, "Me." Me puts a gun to Ma's head and forces him to take charge of two burlap sacks until he can return on New Year's Eve, only a few days away.

Ma is stunned to find the sacks contain men. One is Hanaya (Teruyuki Kawaga), a Japanese soldier, and the other is his Chinese translator, Dong Hangchen (Yuan Ding). Ma calls a meeting with some of his fellow villagers over what is to be done about them. One says turn them over to the Japanese, who live in a nearby barrack and march through the village everyday with great fanfare. Another says kill and bury them before anyone finds out. But, with his life threatened by Me, Ma must make sure nothing happens to the prisoners until he can return. But, when five days turn into five months things can only get worse. The story builds to a penultimate scene that piles on the tension before exploding into a series of shocking events. And just when you thought it was over one last sequence puts a tragic, finishing touch on it all.

Much of the film's comedy comes from the interactions of the characters. Yu'Er is a widow and according to tradition, she is still considered to be married to her husband. Till death do they not part. As such, they try to hide their affair despite everyone in the relatively tight community knowing about it already. Hanaya would rather die than be held prisoner, as such he tries to kill himself by ramming his head into a pole. When that fails, he tries to get Dong to teach him curse words in Chinese, hoping to anger the villagers enough to do him in. Dong instead teaches him pleasantries like, "Happy New Year", leaving everyone to state that the Japanese sound the same when they're angry or happy. Towards the end, two American soldiers are introduced and in a moment that is both funny and sad, they watch events unfold nonplussed, chewing gum. At over two hours, the film doesn't feel long at all (apparently a version screened at Cannes was over 160 minutes), except a section in the middle where Ma travels to the city. He searches for an assassin to kill the captives because no one in the village has the stomach for it. Ma brings back One-Strike Liu, an old but renowned executioner. Liu, of course, fails to execute the prisoner in one strike and the whole scene is filled with goofy slapstick-style humor. While somewhat amusing, it didn't quite fit in with the rest of the film.

"Devils" was met with much criticism from the always-watchful eye of the Chinese government. First, was the foul language that being the frequent mention of shall we say, someone who has sex with a turtle. Second, the nudity which amounted to one very brief scene with a topless Yu'Er. Their main critique, however, was that Jiang Wen did not make the Japanese evil enough and claimed he even tried to vilify his own people. What Jiang Wen did do was show a fair balance to all sides and that everyone can be capable of great compassion or horrendous cruelty. Shown at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, Jiang Wen picked up the Jury Grand Prize. Unfortunately, the Chinese government saw it differently and banned him from making another film for several years (although he was still able to act). Jiang Wen joins the club of fellow Chinese filmmakers who have been censured by their government. Fellow members include Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Tian Zhuangzhuang who's "The Blue Kite" got him banned for almost ten years. Luckily, he returned with 2002's "Springtime in a Small Town."

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The picture looks great and it does the beautiful cinematography justice. Filmed in black and white, each shot is wonderfully composed and lit.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in two tracks, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound comes in clear for the dialogue-heavy film.

EXTRAS:
Sadly, the extras are somewhat lacking. We get a video introduction from Steven Soderbergh, who discusses the film and getting the chance to meet Jiang Wen when they served on the Cannes Jury together. There is also the usual theatrical trailer and liner notes.

FILM VALUE:
"Devils on the Doorstep" is many things. Humorous and upsetting. Beautiful and ugly. In the end, it is a touching tale about people thrown into a situation bigger than they could possibly handle. Swept up into a war made by someone else. Fans of Chinese cinema and films like "To Live" or "The Blue Kite" will not be disappointed.