Devils on the Doorstep (2001)
2h 19m | PG-13
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?
Director: Jiang Wen
Studio: Huayi Brothers Advertising
Genre: Drama, War
Video: 720p
Cast
Jiang Wen
as Ma Dasan
Jiang Hongbo
as Yu'er
Teruyuki Kagawa
as Kosaburo Hanaya
David Wu
as Major Gao
Yuan Ding
as Dong Hanchen
Cong Zhijun
as Grandfather
Reviews
A fantastic anti-war narrative by Jiang Wen that clocks in at 140 minutes and is so well-paced that it feels like half that time. The comedic overtone that permeates the movie serves to provide comic relief and underscore the strong anti-war, anti-nationalist message.