‘Dead to Rights’ smashes box office records, raises awareness

While the film Dead to Rights, with the original Chinese title translated to Nanjing Photo Studio, smashes summer box office records, it is also reigniting national awareness of a dark chapter in China’s history and the courage of unsung heroes who stood up to fascism and brutality.

Set against the backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre perpetrated by Japanese troops in China during World War II, the film’s takings surpassed 2.2 billion yuan ($308 million) on Sunday, according to movie-tracking data.

The takings are a record for historical films screened during China’s summer movie season, which runs from June to August.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), the film tells the story of a group of Nanjing residents, who sought refuge in a photo studio after the city’s occupation by Japanese invaders.

Forced to develop film for a Japanese military photographer, they discover photographic evidence of atrocities and risk their lives to smuggle the negatives out. The film has ignited nationwide interest since its July 25 release, according to media reports.

The narrative of the historical drama draws on real events. The Nanjing Massacre began when Japanese troops captured Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Dec 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they slaughtered approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.

An apprentice at a photo studio in Nanjing secretly compiled an album of 16 photos of the atrocity taken by Japanese soldiers. These images ultimately became key evidence during subsequent war crime trials.

Guarding the evidence

When Japanese troops captured Nanjing, 15-year-old Luo Jin was an apprentice at Huadong Photo Studio on Changjiang Road, public records show.

One day in January 1938, a Japanese officer brought two film rolls for development. As negatives emerged in the developer, Luo was shocked to see images of Japanese troops killing, raping and brutalizing Chinese civilians.

Outraged, he secretly made copies of over 30 photos, selecting 16 for an album to preserve the evidence of these crimes.

In 1941, while hiding the album during a search by Japanese troops, Luo lost the album. Wu Xuan, who was attending a same training program with Luo at the time found it, but was unaware of the owner. The Chinese character for “shame” on its cover convinced Wu the owner shared his patriotic fury.

Wu guarded it at great personal risk and surrendered it after Japan’s defeat. The album ultimately became key evidence in the war crimes trial of Hisao Tani, a Class-B war criminal.

In 1995, Luo and Wu reunited at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. It was their first meeting in over half a century.

“Archives are vital vessels of historical memory,” said Zhou Feng, curator of the memorial hall.

“The 16 photos preserved by Luo and Wu, as key trial evidence, possess irreplaceable historical value. The Nanjing Massacre history brooks no distortion or denial,” he said.

After seeing the film, Evan Kail, an American who donated an album of historic photos to China in 2022, praised the film as a “10 out of 10” cinematic achievement that confronts the Nanjing Massacre.

His donated album contains photos of China dating back to World War II, including ones that document atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers.

Kail said that “the most powerful aspect of the film is its tearing open the veil of history, allowing me, an outsider, to viscerally empathize with the unimaginable suffering endured by the Chinese nation during that catastrophe”.

Respecting history

Drawing on the true story of Luo, Wu and the photos, Dead To Rights centers on a group of Chinese civilians who take refuge in a photography studio during the Japanese occupation of Nanjing.

In a desperate attempt to stay alive, they are forced to assist a Japanese military photographer in developing film only to discover the negatives contain evidence of atrocities committed by Japanese forces across the city. They secretly keep the negatives and risk their lives to deliver them to the outside world, in the hope of revealing the truth.

When discussing his inspiration for the film, director Shen Ao said he was deeply influenced by the 1987 movie Massacre in Nanjing, which is also based on historical accounts.

In 2023, after meeting screenwriter Zhang Ke, they decided to retell this part of history for contemporary audiences. The film’s preparation took a full year, with the most critical task being the meticulous collection and restoration of historical details.

Shen said much of the Japanese soldiers’ dialogue was sourced directly from interviews after the war.

“Our suffering was twisted into a trophy of militarism in their eyes,” said Shen. “What’s even more infuriating is how they staged ‘goodwill photos’ — smiling with children, pretending there was harmony — while committing atrocities. This hypocrisy must be exposed.”

During the film’s Nanjing premiere on July 22, Shen juxtaposed authentic historical “goodwill photos” with scenes from the film. Nearly identical in their composition and angles, they exposed how invaders staged images to whitewash atrocities.

“Beneath every war lies propaganda battles. I hope this film inspires audiences to uncover historical truths,” he said.

During its Beijing premiere on July 24, Shen said that as a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy he had a special bond with film reels.

The opening sequence of Dead to Rights, for instance, links bullets being fired from a chamber and camera shutters clicking. “Shooting” applies to both guns and cameras, connecting violence with its documentation, he said.

“A photo was a bullet on that battlefield. The click of a shutter echoed the crack of gun. The negatives pierced invaders”goodwill’ lies,” Shen said.

He compared today’s skyscraper-filled Nanjing with the war-torn city depicted in the film. “Everything has transformed, but no Chinese will forget the horrors Japanese troops inflicted here 88 years ago,” he said.

The production team did extensive research for the film — consulting publications, documentaries, photos, and material from the memorial hall.

“We discovered something profoundly admirable in that generation: conviction surpassing life itself,” Shen wrote in an article in People’s Daily. “Countless unsung heroes left no names in history books. This film is focusing on their resistance.”

In his view, a film must have dramatic elements, be thrilling, and ensure that it never distorts history. It is paramount to balance drama and historical accuracy.

“To educate through truth demands utmost responsibility,” Shen stressed in describing the team’s approach to content.

Zhang Guosong, a researcher at the memorial hall, called the massacre “not only an unprecedented catastrophe for China but also humanity’s darkest chapter”, and a warning for all humankind that requires perpetual remembrance.

The film counters historical nihilism and revisionism, Zhang said. By showcasing citizens risking lives to preserve evidence, it upholds truth while underscoring remembrance.

“Only through truth can we correctly evaluate history,” he said, noting that Japanese right-wing forces still deny the massacre and glorify aggression.

In 1982, Japan’s Ministry of Education altered textbook accounts of imperialist invasions, sparking protests across Asia.

“War harms both the victims and the perpetrators. Only by remembering lessons and thorough perpetrator reflection can future tragedies be prevented,” said Zhang.

One scene in the film shows a Japanese soldier removing a stone from Nanjing’s ancient wall to be placed in a tower in Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture.

Wu Xianbin, curator of a private museum commemorating the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, said Japan plundered over 370 stones for the tower. More than 200 came from China, including four from Nanjing.

After Japan’s 1945 defeat, Allied forces demanded the tower’s demolition and repatriation of the stones.

Japan has evaded this by “paying lip service but not taking actual action”, Wu said. “This militarist symbol is now packaged as a ‘peace tower’. Right-wing forces still poison Japanese youth with distorted history,” Wu warned.

China’s Ambassador to the US Xie Feng attended the premiere of the film in Washington, D.C., on Aug 6. In his remarks, Xie said that since its release in China, Dead To Rights has achieved both critical acclaim and box office success.

With its weighty historical truth and powerful artistic impact, it has evoked strong emotional resonance. The film transcends time and space, revealing the darkest corners of history while also shining a light on the best of the human conscience, the ambassador said.

It constantly reminds us of the cruelty of war and the preciousness of peace, and urges us to learn from history and create a better future, he said.

Xie pointed out that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. The Chinese people nationwide united as one, fought heroically, and won the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression with tremendous sacrifices, making an indelible contribution to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.

The 1.4 billion Chinese people will never tolerate any attempt to tamper with the history of WWII, and all the peace-loving people in the world will never accept any move to turn back the wheel of history, he said.

The ambassador stressed that remembering history is to pave the way for a brighter future.

Connecting eras

With international releases underway, director Shen said he hopes the film “will make more people clearly realize that anti-fascism represents humanity’s shared yearning for peace — a legacy requiring collective guardianship.”

Filming this history today, Shen said, connects the past and present. He said in our era, we are saturated with information, “But in that era of scarce information, photos from documented atrocities preserved history, and transmitted crucial truths.”

In Nanjing, the film has ignited a surge in interest in genealogy records.

The Nanjing Municipal Archives reports soaring queries for 1946-48 household registration cards. A total of 1.54 million documents discovered in 2006 have been digitized for public access.

“Daily queries averaged 10 previously. Since the film’s release, they have peaked at 1,200 a day,” said archivist Yin Yanbin. “Staff now work overtime to meet demand.”

The documents “reunite” Nanjing residents with their ancestors. “People arrive with familial longing. Many tear up upon finding photos or rush to show elderly relatives. It moves us deeply,” said Yin.

Social media is buzzing with “finding Republican-era family records in Nanjing Archives” stories.

Netizens share discoveries such as: “Our grandparents lived in Sanyuan Alley. They might’ve known each other.”; “Your great-grandmother studied with my grandmother.” Some even recognized relatives’ names on the memorial hall’s victim list, exclaiming “History feels so close”.

Amid the 80th anniversary commemorations, films, plays, music, and art themed on remembering the war are emerging.

Dead to Rights makes history tangible. Many viewers connect its imagery to reality, sensing truth’s weight.

Tang Yitao, 40, a Nanjing restaurateur, took his sixth-grade son to see the film. “As locals, we grew up knowing this history’s importance,” he said. “For children, this impacts them more than textbooks, revealing war’s cruelty and Japanese brutality.”

He teaches his son to remember suffering and humiliation, but not hatred, and encourages him to make himself stronger.

One person who saw the film reflected online that photos traverse war, films cross time and textbooks make them vivid. “Children learn ancestors’ courage, cherish peace, and grasp the meaning of self-strengthening.”

Another viewer declared the film has a “bonus scene” as evidenced by today’s China. “When you exit the theater, today’s thriving China — mountains and rivers unharmed, myriad lights glowing — that’s its greatest reveal,” the reviewer said.