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dong jie, editor of chao news client

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this episode's guest iszhou guohui, vice chairman of the 12th zhejiang provincial committee of the chinese people's political consultative conference。

promotional image of "the sinking of the lisbon maru" source: weibo of the movie "the sinking of the lisbon maru"

a few days ago, the youth film handbook official account tweeted: save "the sinking of the lisbon maru"!

"the movie "the sinking of the lisbon maru" is worth going to the cinema!" "thank you director fang for spending nearly ten years to salvage this true and shocking history." filmmakers such as jia zhangke, han han, and cheng qingsong spoke out through various platforms to promote the film. pacific, poly, lumiere, wanda, vientiane and many other theaters promised to screen the film in all their theaters across the country for a long time...

"the sinking of the lisbon maru" is a documentary about real historical events. it has been nearly half a month since it was released nationwide on september 6, and its reputation has gradually risen. douban scored 9.3 points, a rare high score of the year, maoyan scored 9.6 points, tao piao piao scored 9.6 points, and the recommendation rate of big vs was 93%... whether from the industry evaluation or the audience rating, there is no doubt that this is a good movie.

but why is this action called "saving"? a series of realistic problems, such as a small number of screenings and box office far less than the investment, have also made the industry sit still and take the initiative to support this film. as of september 17, the cumulative box office has exceeded 15 million, and more than 386,000 viewers have entered the theater to watch the show.

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zhou guohui, vice chairman of the 12th zhejiang provincial committee of the chinese people's political consultative conference:

before the holiday, i went to a nearby cinema and watched a documentary film "the sinking of the lisbon maru". the four articles i have posted before all talked about the historical significance and practical value of this film in order to "save" the film. today, i want to talk about my personal experience after watching it.

first, the movie-watching scene that day. although the seats were not full, there were still 30 to 40 people. for the entire two-hour show, everyone was deeply attracted by the story and narrative style of the film. except for the sound of the film, the venue was always quiet, with occasional coughing and gasping. after watching the three long lists of the dead, survivors, and dongji island fishermen who participated in the rescue, everyone slowly walked out of the theater with the long and affectionate ending song. i believe that they will still be immersed in the vortex of the shipwreck 82 years ago and the subsequent events that night. at least i was moved by the film, and this mood lasted for several days. this is the charm of good works of art.

the film revolves around the sinking of the lisbon maru, using a flashback method of discovery and search. in 2013, fang li, the producer, director, and narrator, was filming the film "see you tomorrow" on dongji island. he accidentally heard a legend mentioned by local fishermen, and then he wanted to explore and film it. after consulting relevant historical documents and archives, the author first went to the waters of dongji island and used sonar technology to explore the remains of the sunken ship on the seabed, using scientific and technological means to explore and "salvage" the most important physical evidence of the event. therefore, it is not wrong to say that this is a scientific expedition film. fang li is not only a cultural person, but also a scientist in the field of oceanography. he has made good use of his scientific and technological expertise and advantages in planning and filming. this expression method fully proves that the sinking of the lisbon maru really happened in history. truth is the life of art, especially documentary works.

the author not only "salvaged" the remains of the sunken ship, but also used the efforts of the parties involved in the incident and their descendants to "salvage" the cause, process and subsequent "shock waves" of the sinking. the sinking occurred in october 1942. the japanese invasion of china and the heroic resistance struggle of the chinese army and civilians triggered by the "september 18th" incident in 1931, namely the war of resistance against japan, had lasted for 11 years and had passed the stalemate stage. the japanese army was struggling to survive, and the attack on pearl harbor on december 7, 1941 became the fuse for the outbreak of the pacific war in world war ii. on the sixth day after the pearl harbor incident, the japanese army launched an armed attack on hong kong. after eight days of defense, the british army guarding hong kong was defeated by the japanese army and announced its surrender. in october of the following year, 1,834 british prisoners of war were imprisoned in the cabin of the japanese armed transport ship "lisbon maru" and traveled from hong kong, china to japan. the film narrates the historical background of the incident, which is very concise but clear.

the direct cause of the incident was that the japanese army violated the geneva convention and did not hang any flags or signs for transporting prisoners of war on board. after three days of stable sailing on the sea, the "lisbon maru" was hit by the fourth torpedo fired by the us submarine, which was filled with righteous indignation and wanted revenge, while passing through the waters of dongji island in zhoushan, china, causing the ship to sink. in order to cover up the truth, the japanese army used cruel means such as sealing the cabins and strafing weapons to bury 828 british prisoners of war in the sea. when the prisoners of war were being killed, 255 fishermen from dongji island risked their lives to save 384 dying people, greatly reducing the death toll. this is the historical event of the sinking of the lisbon maru and the east china sea rescue. because it is a documentary, in addition to the oral accounts, memories and letter records of the survivors and their descendants at the time, the film uses paintings, animations and other methods to show the tragic scenes at the time, which is convincing and has room for imagination.

since there is a lack of complete historical documentation, this is a transnational event, and it has gone through 82 years of ups and downs, the author traveled thousands of miles to conduct a transnational search, using advertisements, missing persons notices, and even using a private detective agency in japan, and tirelessly interviewed as many parties and descendants related to the event as possible to get closer to and restore the historical truth, including the descendants of the captain of the lisbon maru, the descendants of the torpedo launchers of the us submarine, the survivors and descendants of the british army, and the dongji fishermen who risked their lives to rescue at the time, so that the audience can fully understand the truth of the event and its sequelae. several of the plots and details are particularly touching.

first, the sinking scene was extremely tragic and bloody. through oral interviews, the film not only further confirmed the authenticity of the incident, but also revealed that the prisoners of war were sealed by the japanese army, the prisoners took turns pumping water to try to break out of the cabin but ultimately failed to escape death, the prisoners sang a farewell song to each other at the last moment of their lives, and some prisoners successfully broke out of the cabin but were brutally shot by the japanese army, etc., which deeply reflects the cruelty of war, the cruelty of the japanese army, and the despair and helplessness of the prisoners of war in the face of death. how can it not move people?

the second is the zhoushan fishermen who risked their lives to rescue the prisoners. when the prisoners were on the verge of despair, zhoushan fishermen rowed their boats out to sea to rescue the prisoners who fell into the water, regardless of their own safety. in the bloody search by the japanese army, they still hid three prisoners in the children's cave and risked sending them to the mainland so that they could return home safely. these plots not only show the selflessness and bravery of chinese fishermen, but also make people feel how the common kindness and compassion of mankind transcends national boundaries and races in the face of war and disaster. in addition to the zhoushan fishermen's heroic deeds that deserve praise and promotion, a british prisoner of war john weaver had a transnational love affair in hong kong before the war. the chinese girl liang suqin later declined the legal pension she could enjoy, hoping to donate it to the families of the victims. this heroic act shines the light of chinese people's boundless love.

the third is the lifelong nightmare of the survivors. the prisoners of war on the ship were all young people in their 20s, and the oldest was only in his early 30s. not only did the families of the victims suffer the pain of losing their loved ones, but even for those who survived, the trauma caused by the war almost changed the rest of their lives. the 93-year-old elder named william beningfield, who now lives in canada, is the only survivor still alive. his family has never heard of his tragic experience. it was only when he was interviewed by an interviewer from china that he could not help but recall that unforgettable experience. the descendants of other survivors are basically the same. many of them only vaguely understood some of the truth in letters, diaries, and photos. these survivors collectively chose to forget and avoid it, because this is a painful period that is unbearable to look back on and a lifetime of pain. the direct creators of the incident, not to mention the parties involved and their descendants, are also the so-called japanese scholars who study war and should remain objective. they are also silent because this is also a bloody massacre. i believe they understand, but they are afraid of the truth.

fourth, at the end of the film, dozens of relatives of the victims were organized to come to dongji island, the place closest to the victims, to hold a mourning event 82 years late. this not only shows the author's courage and persistence in revealing the truth, but also reflects the chinese people's lofty moral sense and sense of responsibility for loving peace and respecting life. from the words and deeds of the participants, they were receptive and moved.

the sinking of the lisbon maru happened 82 years ago during the war, and the victims were buried in the vast east china sea. it is just one case of the suffering of the entire chinese people during the anti-japanese war. it may not be recorded in the history books, and may even be forgotten. however, when we wipe away the dust of history with tears and difficulty, it is still so real, so bloody, so shocking and thought-provoking. this is the great success of fang li and his film. we should pay tribute to all those who have contributed to this film. history should not be forgotten or covered up, but should be faced and reflected. only in this way can we learn lessons from history, avoid repeating the same mistakes, and jointly create a better future.

remember the past and learn from it. today is september 18 again. writing down my thoughts after watching "the sinking of the lisbon maru" is also a kind of commemoration.

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