Movie review - Rescue at Dongji

Rescue at Dongji *** (out of 5) I’m surprised that this fascinating historical event from WW II hasn’t been dramatized before. In 1942 a Japanese ship named the Lisbon Maru was carrying 1800 captured British soldiers to POW camps in Japan. An American submarine sank the ship near a Japanese-occupied Chinese island inhabited by a few hundred fishermen. The Yanks didn’t know who was in the cargo hold or they wouldn’t have fired those torpedoes. Embarrassed by the loss of a vessel, the captors intended to let all the prisoners drown, or be shot if they tried to swim away. The islanders bravely rescued many of them.

In this film, a fictional pair of brothers, Bi (Yilong Zhu) and Dang (Lei Wu) and the former’s girlfriend Hua (Ni Ni) spearhead the uprising and rescue, with varying degrees of reluctance, and over opposition from the intimidated village elders. As usual for Chinese productions depicting ANY era of Japanese occupation, the invaders are portrayed as sadistic oppressors, with no regard for the lives they control or callously end. I’ll leave it for others to advise how accurate this is, but it certainly makes a compelling good vs. evil drama here.

I recently reviewed another film set in the same period and vicinity, Monster Island, in which a condemned Japanese sailor and American captive wash ashore in the eponymous location, and must overcome distrust to bond for survival against the huge reptilian beast that calls it home, and Japanese military pursuers who want both of them dead. The Japanese navy here is presented as even more beastly than the creature.

I call this an epic with a caveat. For most of its running time, directors Zhenxiang Fei and Guan Hu build a rather intimate character drama centered around one British soldier Thomas Newman (William Frankllin-Miller) who the brothers saved after he was blown off the ship in the original attack. Bonds formed awkwardly due to total lack of a common language. Disputes among several leaders over the risks and rewards of defying the invaders also run at some length, as we witness numerous acts of excessive cruelty along the way. The villagers are simple folk, isolated from news and understanding of the rest of the world. They didn’t need to know anything beyond their waters until the war came to them.

Finally, we get to the climactic rescue, and it’s well worth the build-up time. The ship has been sinking so gradually that there was ample opportunity for their navy to transfer all captives to other vessels and continue home, as planned. But they chose to bury the incident and everyone who witnessed it, leading to the massive sea rescue by all the fishing fleet, while under heavy fire from their enemy. That long, riveting sequence reminded me of the stunning D-Day landing at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan for its scope and detail. Soldiers desperately swimming to the boats as bullets flew copiously among them, while the sinking ship created an eddy that added another layer of threat – pulling them down with it. Many casualties among the locals and the Brits before the massive effort ended. The factual elements are provided just before the closing credits.

The film runs 133 minutes, which may feel a bit long as it plays out, but that finale delivers a memorable reward for one’s patience. It’s not quite as large-scale as that D-Day landing, but it’s just as intense. Performances from the leads are solid, but the most award-worthy contributions here are for directing, editing and cinematography.

(Rescue at Dongji, mostly in Mandarin and Japanese, with subtitles, debuts on digital formats from Well Go USA on 2/24/26)