the film "the sinking of the lisbon maru": a voice that bears witness to the truth of history
2024-09-08
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shanghai, september 6 (reporter zhang hengwei) on september 5, the movie "the sinking of the lisbon maru" returned to shanghai film city. three months ago, the movie was the fastest-selling movie at the shanghai international film festival and held its first screening here. this time, producer and director fang li and guest han han came to the scene together to communicate with fans face to face.
director fang li and han han attended the shanghai roadshow. (photo provided by the organizer)
in october 1942, 1,816 allied prisoners of war were locked up in the cabin of the japanese armed transport ship "lisbon maru" and traveled from hong kong, china to japan. the japanese army violated the geneva convention and did not hang a prisoner transport sign on the ship. three days later, the "lisbon maru" was hit by a torpedo from a us submarine in the waters of dongji island, zhoushan, china. the japanese army attempted to bury the prisoners of war in this sea area. at the critical moment, 255 zhoushan fishermen risked their lives to rescue the prisoners who fell into the water.
director fang li spent eight years to complete this film. he could not hide his excitement when recalling the creative process. he visited the survivors and descendants, and heard everyone agree that if the chinese fishermen had not risked their lives to save people, they would not exist. fang li felt that he had to complete this work, otherwise he would become a "historical sinner." he wanted to use this film to call on more people to tell the chinese story together. "this happened in china. if we don't tell it, the righteous deeds of our ancestors and those dead souls will be forgotten."
han han once wrote "when a ship sinks to the bottom of the sea". when recalling his experience of going to dongji island with fang li ten years ago, he was deeply moved by the story of "lisbon maru". han han was not surprised that fang li wanted to make this movie. he knew fang li's character very well, but he didn't expect it to take longer than he thought. fang li thanked han han for his "risk investment" and said that han han was his last "life-saving straw". han han expressed his admiration for fang li's persistence and perseverance, and did not want to become a "guilty person" in history. he hoped to do his part to "escort" this history that should not be forgotten.
after watching the movie, han han called on more people to go to the cinema to watch it, emphasizing that the audio-visual experience in the cinema is very different. fang li introduced that this movie is also related to shanghai. dongji island is only more than 100 kilometers away from shanghai, and the dialect is similar. at that time, the fishermen on dongji island rescued 384 people to the island and hid 3 prisoners of war. they escorted them to the british consulate in chongqing for a month and revealed the atrocities of the japanese army. one of the survivors had been a policeman in shanghai for 10 years. he could speak shanghainese and communicate with the fishermen on dongji island, and then found the hiding place.
not long ago, the film held an open-air premiere on dongji island, inviting local fishermen to watch the film. fang li hopes that the fishermen know that their ancestors and fathers saved a group of people in desperate situations, and their heroic efforts are worthy of pride. the film "the sinking of the lisbon maru" not only tells this history to the world, but also makes future generations remember the kindness and bravery of chinese fishermen. (end)
