Night in China 支那の夜

Night in China was screened in 1940, which was during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).The movie was set in Shanghai. After Japanese won the Battle of Shanghai in November in 1937(which last for three months), Shanghai was governed by Japanese. The main female character, Guilan/ Keiran (桂蘭) was one of the victims of the war. She was a Chinese woman who lost her home due to the war. Her father was “killed in a hail of bullets”, and her mother got lost during the war. So, at first, she was very anti-Japanese. The male protagonist Hase, however, was a Japanese. So, from these two people’s background, we can see the tension between enmity and love. Keiran was attracted by Hase and thought he was a good person. But due to the family tragic that Japanese army has caused, she could not be with him. This trope was used in a lot of melodramas, and it appeared as early as 16 century. For example, we can see the same type of tension in Romeo and Juliet.

In the movie, the director made a huge effort to reduce the tension and let Keiran and Hase get together. For example, a lot of paralleling images was showed in this movie. Keiran and Toshiko lost their family members in the same fight; Keiran’s father and Toshiko’s brother died at the same place; Keiran’s father and Hase were both attacked by “a hail of bullets”; Keiran and the young Japanese kid at the hotel were both beaten by other people. By showing these paralleling images between Japanese and Chinese, the director was trying to tell the audience that some Japanese and Chinese were experiencing the same type of pain. People from both parties were hurt.

There are some very melodramatic moments in this movie (some perfect coincidence/ timing). Keiran refused to communicate with Japanese when she has conscious, however, while she was sick, she not only told them her past, but also apologized for beating the kid.  Her opening up made it possible for Hase and other Japanese to understand her situation and her real thoughts. The scene that Keiran’s mother “returned” was also very melodramatic. Keiran’s mother recognized Keiran at the harbor when Keiran was in pain of losing her husband. At this time, I thought the director was playing the irony of "family reunion". When Keiran lost her father and mother, she formed a new family with Hase. When she lost her husband, the new family member, her mother returned. If Keiran committed suicide, then her mother will lose her daughter again. This will make the family reunion impossible. However, to my surprise, Hase also “returned”. He came at the perfect timing and stopped Keiran from drowning herself. Personally, I feel that the ending will be more powerful if Hase came back after Keiran died (an ending that is closer to Romeo and Juliet).