John Rabe

Although comparisons to Schindler's List are inevitable, Florian Gallenberger's film stands by itself as an intelligent and impressively mounted account of a little-known act of 20th-century heroism, chronicling the efforts of the eponymous German industrialist to protect the residents of Nanking during the 1937 Japanese occupation of the city. Ulrich Tukur plays John Rabe, longtime manager of the China branch of a German company who is about to return to Berlin. Although a committed Nazi, Rabe is a man of principle, concerned for the welfare of the Chinese, so when the city is taken by Japanese forces and civilians are slaughtered along with soldiers, he postpones his departure to become the head of a Security Zone where at least some of the locals can be kept safe. Much of the narrative focuses on the efforts of Rabe and other Westerners (like Steve Buscemi's tart-tongued American doctor and Daniel Brühl's savvy Jewish diplomat), who are pained by the tragedy unfolding around them. Unfortunately, the Chinese are treated largely as background extras, except for one student (Jingchu Zhang) who photographs evidence of Japanese atrocities, the brutality of which is portrayed unflinchingly and powerfully. The so-called rape of Nanking hasn't received the attention it deserves; this film does a welcome service. Recommended. (F. Swietek)