By Shan Qiao, Zhao Qing

    TORONTO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The movie that Chinese director Lu Chuan brings to the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival does not need subtitle to tell the audience about the Nanjing Massacre, a heart-wrenching event in China that has become one of the worst holocausts in human history.

    "City of Life and Death," also named Nanjing! Nanjing!, is Lu'sthird but the most compelling movie that, once again, unveils the Nanjing Massacre that happened in 1937 right after the Japanese army occupied the Chinese city.

    With its unique black-and-white cinematography and unprecedented perspective of portraying a Japanese soldier protagonist, Lu's version of the massacre and the defiance of the Chinese people deeply touched the North American audience.

    Maureen Mondora, a movie fan from the U.S. state of Iowa, broke into tears several times during the first public screening of the movie at Winter Garden Theater on Friday.

    "It was brutal, powerful and heartbreaking. It was hard to watch. I knew about the incident but the way the movie portrays here shows how Japanese army just kept breaking down," she told Xinhua.

    Emma D'Amico, a Toronto teacher, visited Nanjing this past summer as a member of a study tour of the Canada Association for Learning and Preserving the History of World War II in Asia. She met with several survivors there.

    "I think this is a stunning movie that reveals the truth of what happened during the Japan invasion. What we, as educators, should do is to teach our next generation the right history and it's our responsibility to make sure that our kids learn from the past," she said.

    The movie has been a box office success but Lu Chuan has also been criticized for sympathetically portraying a Japanese soldier and his growing moral conflict. Lu Chuan, nevertheless, remains calm.

    "I think the Chinese movies that were previously introduced to the world have been unfortunately stereotyped as martial arts and Kung Fu only. They portray the Chinese people in a very narrow and shallow way," said Lu during an interview with Xinhua in downtown Toronto Friday.

    "What I want to show in this movie is the defiance, persistence and bravery the Chinese people had demonstrated during the Nanjing Massacre. That may well explain to the Western world as to why China is becoming an economically strong country today," added Lu.

    Asked whether he has plans to bring the movie to Japan, Lu admitted: "It is my dream but it is very difficult."

    "I have an excellent team and a lot of Japanese friends are also helping to bring this movie to Japan. My dream is that some day in the future this movie can be released in public (in Japan).I think we're getting closer and closer," said Lu.

    The screening in Toronto is the North American premium of "City of Life and Death." The movie was first released in China this April, when it became an instant box office hit there, earning RMB150 million yuan (about 20 million U.S. dollars) during the first two and a half weeks.

    The 34th Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 10-19. Three other Chinese directors, Johnnie To, Tian Zhuangzhuang and He Ping, will also be attending with their latest movies.