Connection
Devils on the Doorstep is a film of genre Drama directed by Jiang Wen released in USA on 12 may 2000 with Teruyuki Kagawa
Devils on the Doorstep (2001)
If you like this film, let us know!
- Infos
- Casting
- Technical infos
- Photos
- Videos
- Film quotes
- Characters
- Music
- Awards
Add to a movie listDevils on the Doorstep (simplified Chinese: 鬼子来了; traditional Chinese: 鬼子來了; Japanese: 鬼が来た!; literally "the devils are here") is a 2000 Chinese black comedy film directed, co-written and produced by Jiang Wen, starring Jiang himself, Kagawa Teruyuki, Yuan Ding and Jiang Hongbo. Shot in black and white to mimic old-time war movies, the film premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival on 12 May and clinched the Grand Prix but was subsequently banned in its home country.
Inspired by the novel Survival by You Fengwei, Devils on the Doorstep is set in the last years of the Second Sino-Japanese War during World War II and tells the story of a Chinese villager who is forced by a mysterious figure to take custody of two prisoners from the Japanese Army (Teruyuki and Yuan). Fearing both the mystery man and the Japanese, the village falls into a dilemma over what to do with the two prisoners.
Contrary to its title, Devils on the Doorstep is not at its core an anti-Japanese war film. In Jiang's own words, the film shows how Chinese literature and film has perpetuated an attitude of blaming the aggressor and casting the Chinese population as passive victims of aggression. Jiang hopes that the film illuminates this common human psychological trait of blaming others for disaster that goes beyond Chineseness.
Synopsis
In a small village named Rack-Armor Terrace in Hebei, at the foot of the Great Wall of China, a local peasant called Ma Dasan (played by Jiang Wen) is caught by surprise when a man bursts into his home one night and deposits two men in gunnysacks, instructing him at gunpoint to keep them captive but alive for the next few days and interrogate them. The man, identified only as "Me", leaves before Ma can catch a glimpse of him. One of the gunnysacks contains Kosaburo Hanaya (Kagawa Teruyuki), a belligerent Japanese sergeant; the other Dong Hanchen (Yuan Ding), an obsequious Chinese interpreter working for the Japanese Army. Ma hurriedly enlists the help of his fellow villagers. Fearing both the mysterious "Me" and the Japanese, the village decides to follow the instructions from "Me" and detains the prisoners in Ma's cellar. Hanaya repeatedly attempts to provoke the peasants into killing him, but Dong, fearing for his own life, alters Hanaya's words in translation to make him appear conciliatory.Actors
Comments
Leave comment :
Suggestions of similar film to Devils on the Doorstep
There are 50 films with the same actors, 5 films with the same director, 87936 with the same cinematographic genres (including 222 with exactly the same 3 genres than Devils on the Doorstep), 7796 films with the same themes, to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.If you liked Devils on the Doorstep, you will probably like those similar films :
In the Heat of the Sun (1994)
, 2h14Directed by Jiang Wen
Origin Chine
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Political films
Actors Xia Yu, Feng Xiaogang, Wang Shuo, Jiang Wen, Tao Hong, Siqin Gaowa
Rating80%
The film is set in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. It is told from the perspective of Ma Xiaojun nicknamed Monkey (played by Xia Yu; some of Monkey's experiences mimic director Jiang's during the Revolution), who is a teenage boy at the time. Monkey and his friends are free to roam the streets of Beijing day and night because the Cultural Revolution has caused their parents and most adults to be either busy or away and school system was extremely nonfunctional during the Cultural Revolution. Jiang Wen cryptically suggested that famous movement during the Cultural revolution that most elder young people were sent to the countryside. China was actively preparing for military due to the Vietnam War and claiming USSR to be revisionism. Since monkey and his friends were military children, their parents were off for military purposes. Most of the story happens during one summer, so the main characters are even more free because there is no school. The events of that summer revolves around Monkey's dalliances with his roguish male friends, and his subsequent angst-filled crush with one of the female characters, Mi Lan (Ning Jing). However, Mi Lan falls in love with monkey's friend, Liu Yiku.
Red Sorghum (1988)
, 1h31Directed by Zhang Yimou
Genres Drama, War, Historical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musiques du monde, Musical films, Political films
Actors Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Zhang Yimou
Rating72%
The film takes place in a rural village in China's eastern province of Shandong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist’s grandson, who reminisces about his grandmother, Jiu'er (S: 九儿, T: 九兒, P: Jiǔ'ér). She was a poor girl who was sent by her parents into a pre-arranged marriage with an old man, Li Datou, who owns a distillery.
Gone with the Bullets (2014)
, 2h20Directed by Jiang Wen
Origin Chine
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Action, Adventure, Romance
Actors Jiang Wen, Wang Zhiwen, Shu Qi, Zhou Yun, Wen Zhang, Niu Ben
Rating58%
The film is set in 1920s Shanghai, surrounding a beauty pageant.
Let the Bullets Fly (2010)
, 2h12Directed by Jiang Wen
Origin Chine
Genres Comedy, Documentary, Action, Historical
Actors Chow Yun-fat, Jiang Wen, Carina Lau, Liao Fan, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kun
Rating73%
Set in China during the warring 1920s,"Pocky Mark" Zhang Mazi (张麻子; Jiang Wen) leads a group of bandits (each of whom is numbered rather than named). The gang ambush a government train carrying Ma Bangde (马邦德; Ge You), who is on his way to Goose Town (鹅城 E-cheng) to assume the position of governor. Ma's train is derailed, killing both his bodyguards and his counselor, Tang (汤师爷 Tang-shiye; Feng Xiaogang). Ma has no money, having spent it all to buy his position; to avoid being killed by Zhang's bandits he lies to them, claiming that he is actually Counselor Tang and that his wife (Carina Lau) was the dead governor's wife. He tells the bandits that, if they spare him and his wife, he will help Zhang to impersonate Ma and pilfer Goose Town's finances.
The Sun Also Rises (2007)
Directed by Jiang Wen
Genres Drama, Fantasy
Actors Joan Chen, Jiang Wen, Anthony Wong, Jaycee Chan, Zhou Yun
Rating71%
The movie details four interconnected stories. In the first story, madness and mischief as a single mother (Zhou Yun) drives her devoted son (Jaycee Chan) to distraction with her daredevil antics in pursuit of tranquility. The agile mom climbs tall trees and stands perilously astride a small earthen raft on the river. She treasures a beautiful pair of slippers that she is forever losing, and the son fears that, one day, the footwear will remain while his mother disappears.
Space Battleship Yamato (2010)
, 2h11Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Origin Japon
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Post-apocalyptic films, Films about religion, Dans l'espace, Films set in the future, Political films, Dystopian films, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life, Disaster films
Actors Takuya Kimura, Meisa Kuroki, Naoto Ogata, Toshirō Yanagiba, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Teruyuki Kagawa
Rating60%
In 2199, after five years of attacks by an alien race known as Gamilas, the Earth Defense Force launches a counter-offensive near Mars. The fleet's weapons are no match for the Gamilas, who easily wipe out much of the force. During the battle, EDF captain Mamoru Kodai volunteers to use his damaged ship, the destroyer Yukikaze, as a shield to cover Captain Jyuzo Okita's ship, allowing his escape. Mamoru's ship is destroyed.
Hibiscus Town (1987)
, 2h44Directed by Xie Jin
Origin Chine
Genres Drama, Historical, Romance
Themes Political films
Actors Jiang Wen, Liu Xiaoqing
Rating81%
The film follows Hu Yuyin (Liu Xiaoqing), a young and hardworking woman in a small Chinese town on the eve of the Cultural Revolution. She is happily married and runs a successful roadside food stall selling spicy beancurd. Yuyin is supported by Party members Li Mangeng (Zhang Guangbei), who once wanted to marry her, and Director Gu (Zheng Zaishi), a war veteran in charge of the granary. But in 1964 the Four Cleanups Movement sends a Party work-team to root out Rightists and capitalist roaders. The team is led by Li Guoxiang (Xu Songzi), a single woman, assisted by Wang Qiushe (Zhu Shibin), a former poor peasant who has lost his land because of his drinking. At a public struggle session, Yuyin is declared to be a "new rich peasant." Both her home and business are taken from her and her husband, Li Guigui (Liu Linian) is executed for trying to kill Li Guoxiang.
The Elusive Corporal (1962)
, 1h45Directed by Jean Renoir, Guy Lefranc
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes French war films, Military humor in film, Prison films, Political films
Actors Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Brasseur, Jean Carmet, O. E. Hasse, Claude Rich, Mario David
Rating69%
(ref: chaîne Histoire) Juin 1940 - Dans un stalag en France, se trouve réunie une équipe de prisonniers particulièrement pittoresques : Caruso, l'électricien, Emile, Ballochet, Pater et ... le Caporal. Dès les premiers jours de sa captivité, le Caporal manifeste déjà un trait essentiel de son caractère. C'est un maniaque de l'évasion. Une première tentative, à laquelle participe à ses côtés Ballochet et Pater, ne parvient même pas à dépasser le mur d'enceinte du camp. Ce premier échec ne décourage pas le Caporal et Pater qui referont un essai – toujours manqué…- dans le wagon qui les emporte vers l'Allemagne. Et les tentatives continuent ! Un essai de fuite de la fabrique de briques où ils travaillent se termine, pour Pater et le Caporal, aux pieds d'une sentinelle… Décidés d'opérer de façon plus « scientifique », les deux amis se préparent des costumes de ville, en teignant en noir des uniformes. L’opposition d'un adjudant les oblige à retarder leur projet et c’est avec Penche à gauche que le Caporal prend la fuite. Cette fois, ils parviennent à prendre le train, aidés par une voyageuse qui n’est autre qu’un prisonnier français déguisé. Cette évasion mènera le Caporal un peu plus loin que les précédentes… à la gare suivante, où il se fera encore arrêter. Après un séjour dans un camp disciplinaire, le Caporal persiste dans ses intentions et grâce à Erika, une jeune allemande, il parvient à se procurer des vêtements civils pour Pater et pour lui. Dans le train qui roule vers la France, l'espoir des deux évadés grandit d'instant en instant. Un bombardement providentiel les sauvera d'un mauvais pas. Les voici à la frontière, la France est en vue…
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
, 1h34Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Themes Films about religion, Transport films, Aviation films, Films about angels, Political films
Actors David Niven, Roger Livesey, Richard Attenborough, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey
Rating79%
Squadron Leader Peter Carter (David Niven) is a British Royal Air Force pilot trying to fly a badly damaged and burning Lancaster bomber home after a mission over Germany on 2 May 1945. He has ordered his crew to bail out, without revealing that his own parachute has been shot up. He manages to contact June (Kim Hunter), an American radio operator based in England, and talks with her for a few minutes before jumping without a parachute.
Outskirts (1933)
, 1h38Directed by Boris Barnet
Origin Russie
Genres Drama, War, Comedy
Themes Political films
Actors Elena Kouzmina, Nikolai Kryuchkov, Mikhail Zharov, Sergueï Komarov, Mikhaïl Yanchine, Andrei Veit
Rating70%
1914. In a small town in a remote part of the Russian Empire, shoemakers struggle to organise against factory owners. When war comes, they are united as soldiers of the Tsar on the Eastern Front. Anka, a local girl, forges a relationship with a German POW. The film criticises war profiteers and encourages workers to reach across national lines. In 1917 the Russian Revolution comes.