# City of Life and Death (2009)

> A stark black-and-white account of Nanjing's 1937 devastation that finds fragile humanity amid occupation, massacre, and moral catastrophe.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/12838

## Facts

- Runtime: 132 min
- Genres: Drama, History, War
- Director: Lu Chuan
- Cast: Liu Ye, Gao Yuanyuan, Hideo Nakaizumi, John Paisley, Beverly Peckous, Fan Wei, Qin Lan, Ryu Kohata
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124052/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: extreme
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Mood: harrowing, mournful, austere, serious historical viewing, war film marathon

## Synopsis

A haunting portrayal of humanity's darkest moments during wartime.

## Movies like City of Life and Death

- [Our Time Will Come (2017)](https://ember.film/movie/307455)
- [Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/34478)
- [John Rabe (2009)](https://ember.film/movie/3320)
- [Carry On (2014)](https://ember.film/movie/190136)
- [Aftershock (2010)](https://ember.film/movie/29311)
- [To Live (1994)](https://ember.film/movie/19665)
- [Gezhi Town (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7355148)
- [The Eight Hundred (2020)](https://ember.film/movie/351381)
- [Dead to Rights (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7461095)
- [Devils on the Doorstep (2001)](https://ember.film/movie/15354)

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