The Concert did a very good job in separating the two harshest films on our programme: both Lebanon and City of Life and Death are easily categorised as war films, and neither avoids the more horrible aspects of warfare, but they are of a very different type. The Chinese film, coming up on Sunday, is much more wide-ranging, examining scenes of conflict and the huge impact of the Japanese invasion on the civilian population of Nanjing. But it also tells the story of several figures, both historical and fictional, including a Chinese soldier, a schoolteacher, a Japanese soldier, a foreign missionary, and John Rabe, a Nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of Chinese civilians.
'Possibly the war film of the year... the director achieves humane switches of perspective on both sides which put Saving Private Ryan to shame.' Tim Robey, Telegraph
'One of the finest films of the year so far, City of Life and Death is harrowing, shocking and searingly emotional... the picture has the grandeur of a classic. It should be witnessed.' Kate Muir The Times
'One of the most powerful films you'll ever see. Literally unforgettable.' Little White Lies
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