Men Behind the Sun (1988, Tun Fei Mou)

"Men Behind the Sun" is one I just have to go back and re-experience every once-so-often. I've seen a LOT of "disturbing" shit in my time, but none have come quite as close to capturing that special "vibe" that this one formulates. Could be for the fact that it is based on true events that seem to have been withdrawn from many people's consciousness... Could also be the general bleakness of the film. Either way, "Men Behind the Sun" is an uncomfortable ride...

Unit 731 was a secret Japanese army base existing throughout WWII that focused on experimental procedures meant to create biological "weapons" and chemical warfare. Many Chinese prisoners were the subjects of these sadistic war crimes, which (alledgedly) included freezing methods, plague exposure, gassing, decompression, starvation, sea water injections and live autopsies to name a few. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed there.

Aside from all the "graphic" content that "Men Behind the Sun" is known for, a worthy bit of historical intent shines through, which is how the film should initially be explored. School curriculum is only concerned with covering vague aspects of Nazi Germany and either glossing over entirely or fluffing the horrific forms of war violence. For many, it seems that Unit 731 has been discounted by many as irrelevant...

However, MANY memorable scenes of wild, bodily destruction are waiting to blow your mind, such as the infamous decompression chamber scene in which a man's body bloats and then erupts a stew of fecal matter and intestines. There's also the highly controversial "cat scene" to look forward to (though it was, in fact, fake) I Can't recommend "Men Behind the Sun" enough.