Devils on the Doorstep

[Weak2ndAct]

Recently released on dvd by Home Vision Ent., and winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2000, 'Devils on the Doorstep' is a goddamned masterpiece that you must see NOW.  Like 'Underground,' 'No Man's Land,' Kubrick's war flicks...?  Then track 'Devils' down.

I had never even heard of the film before I stumbled upon it in the store.  It's story, troubled history (banned by China, who approved the making of the film), and Soderbergh's dvd intro piqued my curiosity, so I gave it a spin while I was in bed.  I didn't end up going to sleep.  The time is 1945, set in Northern China during the Japanese occupation.  Jiang Wen stars (as well as writes and directs flick) as Ma Dasan, a poor villager who lives along the Great Wall.  His small town (if you can call it that) is basically a parade route for a small unit from the Japanese Navy.  They come through as a marching band, give candy to the kids, expect some respect, a gunship passes by, and all is quiet.  This place is hardly the front line.  

Dasan is woken in the middle of night and finds a gun pointed at his head by an unseen Chinese soldier.  He is given two hostages in burlap sacks: a Japanese soldier, and a Chinese interpreter who serves with him.  His orders: hold the men for six days, interrogate them, and wait for the soldier to pick 'em up.  Well, no one ever comes to pick the hostages up, and now the question arises... what to do?  Dasan ropes the whole village into the situation, telling them they'll all get killed if they fail the task.  It's a prickly situation.  The Japanese hostage is completely enraged by the situation, tries to kill himself, tries to escape, tries to shout obscenities (though is fooled into shouting nicities by his translator).  With the hardly invasive nature of the soliders stationed at the village, the farce continues for months (and I mean farce in the kindest way, the film is quite funny).  

After six months, things finally reach the breaking point.  The villagers form a truce with their charges, agree to deliver them back to their army, on the condition that in exchange the village gets two carts of grain.  And after that... well, I'm keeping my mouth shut.  The story takes some alarming twist and turns, and I dare you not to be moved by the final act of this film.  It's gut-wrenching and tragic, yet still manages to hold some of the humor that's been perfectly displayed throughout.

The film is gorgeous, shot in luminous black and white, and is directed with more than a sure hand.  Yes, the film is long (the only complaint I could even muster), but when you make it to the final minute, not only will your jaw hit the floor, but you'll be rightly convinced that you've seen a masterwork of cinema.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

P.S. DO NOT watch the Soderbergh intro  on the dvd before watching the movie.  While he promises no spoilers, he comes pretty damn close.  Better to just watch the movie first.

[Pubrick]

consider it stolen. thanks.

[w/o horse]

I wasn't able to watch the Soderbergh intro.  What did he say?

I liked the movie okay.  The acting and directing were great, and there were poetic moments throughout, but I'd say it was more than a little long and not enough was happening at times. 

Next, I discuss the end.

The point of the end is to suggest the difficulty in ending a war and the absurdity of an abrupt end to brutal slaughtering, right?  I'm looking for the motivation behind the Japanese burning the Chinese village.  Was it a manner of honor, or an arbitrarily decided act of brutality?  First the captain threatens Dasan, then Dasan kills the villager who says "You must be afraid you have your weapons out.  I am relaxing and drinking and singing", then everyone starts to get killed.  I either missed something or there is simply a leap in consequence I am not following.  Was it because the village kept the two as prisoners, the Japanese village then exalting the one prematurely, thus being shamed by the return of the prisoner, and trade their shame for the annihilation of the Chinese village?

As to suggest that war is purely a matter of lost pride?