The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor 1987

7.62

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

1987

Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun 1987

7.50

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

1987

Men Behind the Sun

Men Behind the Sun 1988

6.10

The film is a graphic depiction of the war atrocities committed by the Japanese at Unit 731, the secret biological weapons experimentation unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The film details the various cruel medical experiments Unit 731 inflicted upon the Chinese and Soviet prisoners at the tail-end of the war.

1988

The Flowers of War

The Flowers of War 2011

7.45

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

2011

Red Sorghum

Red Sorghum 1988

7.20

An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu'er. When the Japanese invaders subject the area to their rule and cut down the sorghum to make way for a road, the community rises up and resists as the sorghum grows anew.

1988

City of Life and Death

City of Life and Death 2009

7.40

In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.

2009

Air Strike

Air Strike 2018

5.10

An American pilot is sent to a Chinese province to teach a crew of would-be pilots how to fly war planes against the Japanese during World War II.

2018

Wife of a Spy

Wife of a Spy 2020

6.60

It’s 1940, and the population of Japan is divided over its entry into World War II. Satoko, the wife of a fabric merchant, is devoted to her husband but is beginning to suspect he’s up to something. Soon she allows herself to be drawn into a game in which she enigmatically conceals her intentions.

2020

The Message

The Message 2009

7.40

After a series of assassinations in Nanking, a Japanese spy master gathers a group of suspects in a mansion, then a tense cat-and-mouse game erupts as the Chinese agent tries to keep his or her identity a secret.

2009

Hidden Blade

Hidden Blade 2023

6.40

Follows the story of underground workers who risked their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland, set after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor when the Wang Jingwei regime declared war on Britain and the U.S.

2023

Devils on the Doorstep

Devils on the Doorstep 2001

8.19

During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?

2001

The Children of Huang Shi

The Children of Huang Shi 2008

6.74

About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.

2008

The Wrath of Vajra

The Wrath of Vajra 2013

5.60

In the 1930s , a Japanese cult called The Temple of Hades was ordered to cooperate with the Japanese military to destroy China. They buy so many young children from poor family , who will be trained as a lethal killing machine and serve the Empire of Japan. One of them is Vajra , who was forced by his captors to fight for the food , and accidentally causing the death of his brother. Several years later , Vajra grown up and become one of the biggest killer in the Hades sect. Vajra escapes to China and joins Shaolin , where he receives spiritual enlightenment and determined to support China against Japan.

2013

On Wings of Eagles

On Wings of Eagles 2016

5.60

Eric Liddell - China's first gold medalist and one of Scotland's greatest athletes - returns to war-torn China.

2016

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness 1958

6.70

All her life, Englishwoman Gladys Aylward knew that China was the place where she belonged. Not qualified to be sent there as a missionary, Gladys works as a domestic to earn the money to send herself to a poor, remote village. There she eventually lives a full and happy life: running the inn, acting as "foot inspector", advising the local Mandarin, and even winning the heart of mixed race Captain Lin Nan. But Gladys discovers her real destiny when the country is invaded by Japan and the Chinese children need her to save their lives. Based on a true story.

1958

Not Scared to Die

Not Scared to Die 1973

5.70

Historical movie set during the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. Jackie Chan is one of the good guys but has nothing much more than a supporting role.

1973

The Wasted Times

The Wasted Times 2016

6.90

Shanghai gangsters grapple with lust and loyalty on the eve of war with Japan as they try to navigate an alliance with the enemy's army.

2016

She's Got No Name

She's Got No Name 2024

1

Set in a bustling alleyway during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the 1940s, the film centres on a wife, Zhan Zhou, who was being charged with the bloody dismemberment of her husband – a killing that seems impossible for her to have committed alone. The murder thrusts Zhan into the spotlight and the court of public opinion, forcing her towards a fate intertwined with that of her own country.

2024

Nanking

Nanking 2007

7.20

The story of the rape of Nanking, one of the most tragic events in history. In 1937, the invading Japanese army murdered over 200,000 and raped tens of thousands of Chinese. In the midst of this horror, a small group of Western expatriates banded together to save 250,000. Nanking shows the tremendous impact individuals can make on the course of history.

2007

Purple Butterfly

Purple Butterfly 2003

6.60

Ding Hui is a member of Purple Butterfly, a powerful resistance group in Japanese occupied Shanghai. An unexpected encounter reunites her with Itami, an ex-lover and officer with a secret police unit tasked with dismantling Purple Butterfly.

2003

Hengshan Hospital

Hengshan Hospital 2021

2.00

The drama takes place in republican era China in Hengshan Hospital, centered primarily on the conflict between the Communist Party and the KMT in 1930s Shanghai. Ma Tian Ming is a faithless, greedy, and selfish man who makes his living by cheating and lying. A coincidental accident drags Ma Tian Ming into a case in which he becomes the suspect. Trying to escape, he impersonated the chief doctor of Hengshan Hospital, Cai Li Kun. However, Ma Tian Ming soon found out that Cai Li Kun is a member of the underground Communist Party.

2021