Japanese Devils (2001)

This is a documentary about the war crimes that Japanese soldiers did during the invasion in the second world war. I expected that this film will have some historical footage, showing what the soldiers did in the invasion. However, the film did not have any historical footage, it only contained the confessions of the soldiers.The Japanese government has constantly denied that they have done anything wrong during the invasion, and even denying that they invaded China and other countries in Asia. I think this documentary is very valuable. Throughout the whole documentary, it contained the confessions of many soldiers who killed and raped civilians. They looted villages, and burned all houses they saw. They had competitions about how many Chinese people they killed each day. All the things were very horrible, and they regretted and repented that they committed such crimes.The soldiers confessed their crimes because they could not live with their conscience. Some of them had nightmares during their sleep. Others want to teach the younger generation what war is really like. War is not glorious, it is a beastly event. Every soldier had to lose their mind and become cruel. The soldiers hope that, by teaching the younger people about wars, there will not be anymore invasions by Japan in the future.One very important thing about this film that many spectators did not like is its length. It is nearly three hours long. Three hours of pure talking is very dull and boring, even though the things they are saying are very important. A lot of people left in the middle of the film. As I previously mentioned, the film did not have any historical footage. All the crimes were described in words by the soldiers. Without some graphical help, it is a bit difficult to imagine what it was really like. I suggest that the film can add some reconstructions of the crimes, so that the messages can be brought to the spectators more vividly and effectively.

This is a MUST SEE. Japanese director Minoru Matsui should be praised for releasing a 'confessions of ex-WW2 Japanese soldiers'. This is a very sensitive issue in Japan today due to their many living in denial of their crimes. These ex-soldiers confessed of their indiscriminate murders, rapes, plunders, tortures and so on. Basically the most horrific of crimes against humanity unimaginable. You have to see this to believe it. The average Japanese soldier would make Joseph Mengele look like Mother Theresa. The average Japanese soldier would make any Nazi T4 personnel look like pussycats. These soldiers have contributed to the most sickenning part of mankind's history. This documentary should be made compulsory viewing for all students of modern history and warfare. In the way it was presented, I can guarantee that there is no "off-putting" part as suggested by another reviewer in his "perceived bias of the victim nation's propaganda". HELLO... it was made by Japanese!!! Duh. There's simply no excuse for what these men did.We should all view this so history will never repeat itself.Lest we forget the past for our future's sake.

This documentary, still seen by few, will hopefully be more widely distributed as years go by. The usual war dynamics are here; men brutalized by a brutal military machine lose their humanity.Listening to these old men tell the stories; however, puts it in an powerful context. Recommended, nine out of ten.

A compelling, moving and frightening documentary, consisting of interviews with elderly Japanese veterans about their experiences in China (and Manchuria) during the war. Included in this group are former members of the infamous unit 731, known for its biological warfare tested on the Japanese.The movie clearly spells out the atrocities committed by the Japanese upon Chinese civilians, and their recollections of their feelings and motivations at the time. While such films that deal with Nazi atrocities are not uncommon, there are few other Japanese-produced documentaries of this type. The only off-putting note is when the soldiers describe their capture by the Chinese at the end of the war, and how well they were treated during their captivity -- often with more than one soldier using the exact words to describe it, and accompanied by propaganda-looking footage from the time. But this can hardly detract from the power of the testimony of these soldiers and their descriptions of the atrocities they committed.