Review
Jiang Wen's mordant World War II epic was a huge hit with international critics, but nearly sunk his career when Chinese authorities banned the film and exiled Jiang from the movie industry. Set during Japan's brutal occupation of China during the war, Devils on the Doorstep plays like a broad black comedy in its first half. The film's humor is predicated on cultural misunderstanding and farcical convolutions, as a group of peasants in Northern China bicker over what they should do with two unwanted Japanese captives that have been left in their custody by shadowy resistance fighters. As the plot unravels, however, the rollicking tone curdles into hysterical outrage, and the inexorable illogic of war sets in. The movie's climactic set piece is a village feast amid a truce, with the Japanese soldiers and Chinese peasants celebrating side-by-side in a startling show of bonhomie. Reminiscent of a famous bonfire party scene in Olivier Assayas's Cold Water, the sequence keeps you on edge -- the raging bacchanal threatens to careen out of control, and the precarious harmony seems poised for an inevitable upending. The latest in a long line of tragicomic antiwar works, Devils on the Doorstep doesn't really say anything new about the horrors of war and the human condition. With its expansive scope, expressive mise-en-scene and absurdist spirit, however, Jiang's movie proves itself a worthy addition to an unfortunately relevant genre. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
On the DVD
Digital transfer enhanced for 16:9 televisions
Dolby Digital 5.1 audio
Introduction by Steven Soderbergh
Reprinted interview with director Jiang Wen
Original theatrical trailer
