《南京！南京！》直面残酷历史

　　本月22日，一部记录南京大屠杀题材的新电影《南京！南京！》将在电影院上映。

　　A new film, City of Life and Death (Nanjing! Nanjing!) about the Nanjing Massacre, will hit cinema screens on April 22.

　　执导导演陆川希望这部电影能够治疗这个城市的旧伤。

　　The film's director Lu Chuan hopes it will help heal the old wounds of the city.

　　20年前，陆川曾参观过南京大屠杀纪念馆，他表示：“南京是个有着历史疮疤的城市。”

　　"Nanjing was a city with a scar," said Lu, who visited the city's memorial hall for the Nanjing Massacre 20 years ago.

　　1937年12月，日军占领了战时中国首都——南京。之后，日军在南京展开了一场血腥大屠杀。

　　The Nanjing Massacre took place in December 1937 after the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, the wartime capital of China.

　　这场屠杀中，30多万中国人被杀害。

　　More than 300,000 Chinese are believed to have been killed.

　　短短6周内，该市三分之一的建筑被烧毁， 2万多女性被强暴。

　　One third of the city's buildings were burned, and more than 20,000 women were raped in six weeks.

　　据悉，在电影正式开机前，陆花费3年多时间来调查大屠杀的资料。

　　Lu spent over three years researching the massacre before shooting this film.

　　最后，陆导刻画了4名中国角色，并以几个普通老百姓的命运为电影主线。

　　His film follows the fate of several ordinary people. Lu creates four Chinese characters.

　　他们是：到最后一刻仍在抵抗日军的军官，为保护他人牺牲自己的女教师，尽其所能保护其他女性的一名*女以及竭力保护家人和同胞的秘书。

　　They are an officer who resists to the last moment, a teacher who loses her own life to protect others, a prostitute who tries to help other women, and a secretary who tries his best to protect his family and compatriots.

　　陆说：“我想要告诉观众，我们中国人不是懦夫。拍这场电影的一个主要原因就是要讲述他们的故事。”

　　"I want to tell the audience that our people were not cowards," Lu said. "To tell their story is a key reason for me to make the film."

　　通过翻阅当年那些日本士兵的日记，陆发现其实他们也同样是一群普通人。

　　From Japanese soldiers' diaries, Lu found they were also "ordinary people".

　　他说：“是战争迫使他们成了杀人的机器。”

　　It was the war that turned them into killing machines, he said.

　　描写大屠杀的中国电影中作品鲜少从普通人的角度来刻画日本士兵。

　　Few Chinese films about the massacre portray Japanese soldiers as human beings.

　　然而陆导的电影不同。这也引发了不少争议。

　　But Lu's film is a bit different, which arouses controversy .

　　在他的电影中有这样的场景：日本士兵们快乐地烹饪香味的汤，还有一名年轻的日本士兵爱上了一名中国“慰安妇”。

　　In his film, there are times when Japanese soldiers share happy moments making a pot of tasty soup, and one young soldier even falls in love with a Chinese "comfort woman".

　　与此同时，他们又是军队的一份子，在严厉的军规下，他们需要杀戮。

　　In the meantime, these soldiers are part of an army under strict rule and were expected to kill on demand.

　　一些看过该电影的人们有着和陆一样的想法：“也许我并不能喜欢上日本军队，但是我可以试着谅解他们。”

　　Some people who watched the film share Lu's idea that "maybe I cannot make myself love the Japanese troops, but I can try to understand them".

　　但是，很多其他人则为他对日本侵略者的“柔和的”描述感到气愤。

　　However, a great number of the rest have been angered by his "soft" depiction of Japanese invaders.