TaraVerde

Movies about crimes against humanity are usually tough to watch for me, and I was particularly reluctant about *Dead to Rights* because I have known about the Nanjing Massacre for several years now, and the descriptions of the horrors committed by the Japanese soldiers who took the city during those six weeks still haunt me to this day.

But once I found the movie available, and since I had just finished the chapter about that particular event (in a more general way this time) in my current reading on the War of Resistance against Japan, I decided to give it a try.

It was, indeed, a tough watch that took me two sittings, but if you know the history, you’ll know the film isn’t exaggerating for the sake of shock value. Although the director doesn’t shy away from the atrocities, the scenes don’t go for low blows or indulge in gore... still, not for the faint of heart.

Another aspect worth highlighting is the historical background of the photographic records and how they came to public knowledge, which is at the core of the storytelling in *Dead to Rights*, both for their importance as proof of those crimes and as a device that channels the film's narrative of the massacre.

So, for those who want to watch this movie and don't know much about the massacre, why and how it came to an end, or the story of the photographic records, I'd recommend reading about it first rather than going in blind (or afterwards, for that matter), in order to have more perspective and appreciate what the whole team has done here.

All in all, a solid film in the genre with compelling storytelling, which in my opinion justifies its seven nominations at the 39th Golden Rooster Awards, among them Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.

Edit: the rating for "music" is misleading, because in this case it's more impactful the sound edition that the score.