Based on the atrocities committed by the Japanese occupying forces in China during World War 2, the film is, to say the least, appropriately grim. No stranger in attempting to present atrocities on film, director T.F. Mous, who helmed the equally infamous Men Behind the Sun, tackles a very hard subject matter. How does he do it? Well, the end result is part documentary, part exploitation, and part historical fiction. The film doesn't really have a conventional narrative, no three act plot, no real lead characters. Really, it is just a series of brutalities, a timeline of tragedies, sometimes stopping for a conversation between Japanese officers rationalizing their actions, sometimes following two young children who have managed to evade the Japanese troops, or their uncle as he is forced into a detainment camp, or a kowtowing translator just trying to stay alive. The depressing horrors mount from the initial rush of the soldiers first invasion, indiscriminately killing most anyone, to the citizens being rounded up into camps where even intentional aide workers cannot save them, to the finale where seemingly endless fields of bodies are burned.

Other films that have tackled similar terrain are Schindler's List, The Pianist, The Killing Fields, and, from what I hear, Hotel Rwanda. To describe the mood of Black Sun, I'd say it is like the segment of Killing Fileds where Dith Pran has been left behind and imprisoned and tortured by the Khmer Rouge, including his escape where he walks across those infamous fields of slain bodies. It is understanding that when tackling the unimaginable true life horrors, films like Schindler's List and The Pianist do hinge on that modicum of hope, that bright side that someone survived, that someone struggled against the evil. Black Sun offers no such relief. A typical scene in Black Sun involves a pregnant woman who has her baby cut out of her belly by a soldier who gleefully holds up the impaled fetus before her.

Now, this brings me to my final point, a matter of love/hate for T.F. Mous method. I totally respect anyone with the guts not to sugarcoat their films and one thing Black Sun doesn't have is sugarcoating. Mous even amplifies his scenes by intercutting them with actual historical film footage, stills, and text facts. For instance, lets say, a scene where a Japanese officer is beheading a prisoner will become ten times more shocking when, just before the sword blade hits the prisoner's neck, the film will cut to an actual photograph of a beheading and you realize Mous had fashioned the entire scene to recreate this photo. It is a film that assaults you, and it captures the delirium, the cruelty, and hopelessness of what happened in Nanking. But, the film is so bitter and bleak, it becomes punishing to watch. That ultimately hurts what should be the films greater films cause, to expose a wide audience to this tragic story. Instead, Mous has made a stomach churner that can only appeal to a limited crowd.

The DVD: Unearthed.

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Obviously a lower budget production, it still looks pretty good. The print does have some wear and tear, just some minor spots and dirt here and there. Color details are quite good and hues come across vibrant and strong. Sharpness details are in decent shape. The contrast and grain seems a tad rough, probably due to the skimpier budget and some minor compression.

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. Likewise the sound quality is a bit rough in a few spots, but this is more to do with the nature of the materials rather than a bad audio transfer. Subtitles are quite good, though I have a little gripe with their use of English names for two Chinese children.

Extras: "Why We Fight" (60:02), a bit of 1040's propaganda from the US war department. This skewed and dated black and white piece still shows a lot of actual footage from Nanking that was used as source material for the film.— "History of the Nanking Massacre" text info.— Two T.F. Mous Interivews, again, text.— Nanking Virtual Map— Photo Gallery— Trailers for Junk, Evil Dead Trap 2, and Boy Meets Girl.

Conclusion: Well, this one is only for those with an iron constitution. Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre is a rough ride sure to seer its way into a viewers memory. The DVD transfer offers a very decent presentation of a film most viewers will find hard to digest. But, maybe that is the way it should be?