Devils on the Doorstep

Name: Devils on the Doorstep
Genre: Drama, Comedy, War
Released: December 18, 2002
Duration: 139 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Kenya Sawada, Wen Jiang

2002

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Cowboy Pictures | Release Date: December 18, 2002

Starring: Kenya Sawada, Wen Jiang

Summary: By turns an elaborate wartime drama of China, suffering under Japanese occupation during the 1930s and 40s, and an absurdist comedy of madness, cultural disconnects and historical booby-traps that Samuel Beckett would recognize in an instant. (Film Forum)

Director: Wen Jiang

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, War

Runtime: 139 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Scott Tobias

Though shorn of 20 minutes for its U.S. debut, the film's wry comic portrait of the Japanese Occupation during WWII hasn't lost any of its incendiary brilliance, both as a political provocation and as a brusquely humane take on the horrors and absurdity of war. Read full review

Stephen Holden

In its dry and forceful way, it delivers the same message as Jiri Menzel's "Closely Watched Trains" and Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land." While acknowledging that war is hell, it goes further to suggest it is ludicrous. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Ken Fox

Jiang draws a great deal of humor from the situation, but the film inevitably explodes in terrible violence. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

Jiang's razor-sharp conclusions are less about the Japanese army or the Chinese government than about simple human nature. Read full review

V.A. Musetto

A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire. Read full review

Dennis Lim

By the final shot, which assumes the viewpoint of a decapitated head, its appalled comedy has swelled, beyond outrage, to a pitch of punch-drunk hysteria. Read full review

Derek Elley

Has all the classic faults of a picture not only directed by an actor but by an actor who is his own producer. Read full review

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User Reviews

beeanadou

Sep 27, 2021

Can't believe there are people don't believe this was what the Japanese did in many Asian countries, while a knowledge of what German did has become general knowledge.

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RobertBrogan

Sep 30, 2015

Devils on the Doorstep is a comically told tragedy. The characters and story-telling are great. It is a shame that the film was banned since it is very Chinese in spirit -- full of cynicism, vitality, and humor. Compared other war movies, DoD was not hard to take. The film prepares theDevils on the Doorstep is a comically told tragedy. The characters and story-telling are great. It is a shame that the film was banned since it is very Chinese in spirit -- full of cynicism, vitality, and humor. Compared other war movies, DoD was not hard to take. The film prepares the viewer for its darker moments with its pacing and emphasis on absurdity. Because it winds up pretty grim, I could not recommend it to someone as a comedy but definitely recommend it as a film.… Expand

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JingSAN

Sep 22, 2022

2022.9.22. Too good. The sence of feast is suprising but totally make sense. As a man grow up in Chinese countryside, i can see they put a lot of efforts on the background.

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