This film is a masterpiece. The first time I saw this film was in senior heigh's class when I was in China. And to those reviewers who know nothing about China, except the issue when the film first went public, this film is the representative work of Jiang Wen which is spoken highly by the Chinese audience. It never goes underground and now it is accessible everywhere on Chinese video website. One less thing to criticise us, what a pity.

As others have already stated, this is a marvelous work by Wen Jiang. The setting was beautiful and the cinematography was outstanding. Western audiences may be unfamiliar with the Sino-Japanese conflict but elements of the story transcend that. I will re-watch it carefully but, on first viewing I could not figure out who "me", the kidnapper, was. There is a possible clue however. "me" points a Mauser pistol at Ma Dasan in the opening scene. Mausers were "en vogue" with many Chinese warlords of that era. Was this a coincidence or a subtle hint? Was "me" therefore Chinese? Why would a fellow Chinese person saddle Ma Dasan and his village with such a disastrous assignment?

'Devils on the Doorstep' is a surprisingly original and well-made film from China, detailing their occupation at the end of World War II by focusing in on a small village under Japanese rule. The film mixes war, violence, comedy, fear and tragedy in a careful manner, making sure that the sometimes opposing styles never clash. The only problem I have with the film is its somewhat uneven and oddly paced structure, which unfortunately does hinder an otherwise perfect and very well made feature.Perhaps one my favourite aspects of 'Devils' is its photography which is mostly shot in black and white save for a scene near the end. The whole film looks marvellous and the lighting is used appropriately to cast dramatic shadows where needed, helping to create very memorable and inspiring scenes. The actors themselves do a brilliant job bringing their characters to life, being animated at all times, never once giving a dull or dry performance. When taken in addition to the fantastic direction from Wen, these details make 'Devils' an absolute joy to look at and it's images and characters will not be easily forgotten.The films also displays intelligent and thought provoking themes throughout, focusing on war, survival, revenge, the human spirit and many others. The themes are perhaps not as focused as they could have been, and this admittedly does bring the uneven structure of the plot to the attention more, however I say this only because with a film as well made as this, you have to include even the tiniest of mishaps to form a conclusive and informative review. Nevertheless, I recommend you watch this film for yourself the next time you have the chance, no matter who you are: this is a must.

The movie is about the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. It is very humorous and shows the human side of people in the war, be it Japanese or Chinese. Because of that the movie was heavily criticized by the Chinese government who accuses it of being too sympathetic to the Japanese. They even object to one scene where a Chinese peasant feeds a Japanese prisoner because (as they put it) no self respecting Chinaman would do that when food was scarce.While most war time movies seen in the West concentrate on war in Europe and Pacific, this one gives another perspective. Though at times hilarious and grotesque the movie ends in tragedy as the might of war taker over humanity again. It's a must see: 10/10