If you were to watch the dozens of films pumped out by Hollywood studios during and after WW 2 about the war in the Pacific, you would find one common denominator. That denominator would be the fierce resistance of the Japanese soldier in every film. Even when the Japanese were depicted as losers of battles, they seldom surrendered, and usually fought to the last man. Non in Evening Bell. In Evening Bell, the Japanese squad that is depicted in the film is thoroughly demoralized and beaten.
Director Wu Ziniu does a masterful job of illustrating this situation with a minimum of dialogue. As a matter of fact, I do not speak a word of Chinese or Japanese, yet I found the film thoroughly engrossing. The cinematography, as well as the direction, is first-rate.
The film shows a small unit of Chinese regulars inducing a much larger contingent of Japanese soldiers to surrender. The Japanese literally have TONS of ordinance inside their cave. They are, however, extremely short on food. Man cannot live on water alone.
The inducement of food is a powerful tool, as you will see from the film. There are some overly violent scenes in the movie, but this was a violent war. It is interesting to note that about fifteen minutes after the US forced a Japanese surrender, the Chinese Civil War started and lasted for the next four years or so. But this film takes place before that event. Good cinema.
