Devils on the Doorstep (2000) Guizi lai le (original title): During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. (8.2)
Director: Wen Jiang
Writers: Wen Jiang (screenplay), Wen Jiang (story)
Stars: Wen Jiang, Kenya Sawada and Yihong Jiang
Language: Mandarin & Japanese (w/ English subtitles)
A tragic comedy, but it is a thinking man's movie. The moral dilemmas and ambiguities faced by the village people and the prisoners show the human psychological drama all the while showing the comedic side of the story as well. The ending of the story was a lot darker than I expected but that only goes to show various aspect of the human psyche. Superb acting. According the Wikipedia article this movie was banned in China but received largely positive reviews from the rest of the world including Japan. My Rating: 7.5
