John Rabe

2009 "History Needs Extraordinary Heroes"
7.2| 2h14m| en| More Info
Released: 02 April 2009 Released
Producted By: Hofmann & Voges Entertainment
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.

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Reviews

Pluskylang Great Film overall
Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
ShangLuda Admirable film.
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
SnoopyStyle It's 1937. John Rabe (Ulrich Tukur) runs the Siemens plant in Nanking, China. He dismisses news of Japanese massacres. He is ordered back to Berlin when the Japanese attack. He saved the Chinese workers from the bombings under the Nazi flag. He ignores orders to close the plant. He is selected to organize a safe zone within the city with the help of the other westerners. Dr. Rosen (Daniel Brühl) with a Jewish ancestor is an assistant under German Ambassador Trautmann. Valérie Dupres runs a school for girls. Robert Wilson (Steve Buscemi) is an American doctor. Rabe decides to stay sending his wife on a ship. The ship is sunk and his wife is presumably lost.This is a compelling story of a Nazi saving war victims due to his humanity. The obvious comparison is Schindler's List. It is a straight forward telling. The difference is the emotional arc. Rabe is not quite as emotional and his Germanness keeps the story from elevating higher. It does put the lesser known history on the big screen. The history is compelling with some good tension and needs to be told.
Kong Ho Meng It is well made for a historical/biographical film, but there were a number of critical flaws : overdramatization (the least of its problems as movies need drama anyway) , inclusion of unnecessary scenes of romance, historical or more precisely technical flaws (the existence of such a small hand-held camera was not convincing), Steve Buscemi's overly-americanized character (i don't know if 'balls' or 'f***' were common during those era, but he talked like a modern American), accuracy of the portrayal of the then Japanese soldiers, etc.However i am glad the actors delivered spectacular performances to cover up those said flaws and made the most out of the limited character development, which was another aspect i would give salute for this film as it manages to focus on the big picture of the rescue efforts.
beijingpearl2003 I have studied the man John Rabe through his diaries and other accounts of him from some of the main players such as Minnie Vautrin, Dr. Robert Wilson, Lewis Smythe, etc., and was expecting to see more of his actual work on the Peace Zone and Red Cross committees and perhaps a little less of the personal life--it's nice we got to see some of his relationship with his wife, but I think the movie would have benefited more from detail as to WHY he is so revered in China--he was so intelligent, kind-hearted, and seemed to truly love the Chinese people, and some of this is shown, as well as a little of his naiveté, but it needed MORE. For a character like Rabe you cannot just call him a benevolent Buddha and expect all the viewers to just know the details. I actually enjoyed Buscemi as Dr. Wilson, though I doubt Rabe would've sat still for the Hitler song, even while drinking! Wilson wore himself out, almost to death, in the hospital--where he would've found a moment for such a scene is a question. The one BIG issue that is appallingly inaccurate, to the point of being offensive, is the fictive character of Ms. Dupre. As one who has studied this period and read biographies on the main players, I kept wondering WHERE was Minnie Vautrin, the principal of Jinling Women's College, and WHO was this French woman?? How in the world did the creators of this movie go to such lengths to dramatize Rabe's life in Nanjing, yet make up this silly female character to replace an actual, real, wonderful and strong character like Vautrin? It just made NO sense to me at all. The Chinese called Rabe "The Living Buddha" for the immense efforts he made to save them (and as I said, more of this needed to be shown), and Minnie Vautrin, an American educator who loved China, was called the Goddess of Mercy-- there was no romance between them, but only an immense respect and need to help the Chinese. A romance seems to be implied between Rabe and this Miss Dupre character, which is a ridiculous development, especially leaving out the REAL Vautrin and her work. Also, some of the plots seemed superfluous, such as the development with Rabe's wife, and the emotional level was more shallow than I expected for a film about such a man as Rabe. Not a bad film, but just lacking in so many ways. I almost shut it off half way through, out of sheer frustration with the lack of fact and the made-up characters, but stuck it out. There were glaring errors and a disconnectedness to the story that were too distracting for me personally, however, I do recommend it in the end, if only to those who want to know more about such a great man as John Rabe--though, even for a movie hound like m'self, I think READING about him is better than anything this movie offers.
Esmee Webb John Rabe's story is important and probably merited its 'blockbuster' treatment. Rabe was the elected head of the international organisation that attempted to save the Nanjing Chinese from the appalling treatment they received at hands of their Japaense conquerors in 1937-8. The scale of the massacre, some 200,000-300,000 Chinese were killed, is still denied by many Japanese. These poor people were buried alive, beheaded in competitions, mown down by machine gun, burnt alive. The women were gang raped and, if they did not die as a result, sexually mutilated to ensure their deaths. The appalling behaviour of the Japanese troops in Nanjing is not sufficiently well known. By making a Hollywood-style 'blockbuster', the Germans have done the world a service. The film may be, indeed is, wrong in detail, but at least it may be seen by a wide audience who may then be tempted to find out more. In my opinion, this is a MUST SEE film because it addresses an appalling event that has been covered up for far too long.