Dead to Rights

In the midst of the Japanese occupation of Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War, widespread atrocities unfold as invading forces massacre civilians, commit rapes, and loot the city. After the initial assault, the Japanese use quisling translator Wang Guanghai to help them control the city by giving him passports out of Nanking for his family. Although married, he is having an affair with an opera actress, Lin Yuxiu, who tries to survive by performing shows for the Japanese military. He stays in an effort to try to get an extra passport for Lin.

Japanese military photographer Itō Hideo is assigned to document the massacre for propaganda. When a superior orders him to execute a civilian to prove his loyalty, Itō discovers the man, postman Ah Chang, carrying photographs and questions if he is a photo developer. Ah Chang lies to save his life and leads Itō to a nearby photo studio. Through Wang as interpreter, Itō gives Ah Chang one day to develop his film rolls.

After Itō and Wang depart, Ah Chang encounters the studio owner, Jin Chengzong, and his family hiding inside. Jin convinces Ah Chang to help develop the photos to avoid drawing suspicion and a search. Ah Chang initially flees toward the city exits but returns after witnessing soldiers executing escapees.

After Jin and Ah Chang develop the photos, Itō returns and tests Ah Chang by taking random negatives in the studio and telling him to develop them in front of him. After satisfactorily completing most of the process, Itō opens the dark room door. When Ah Chang protests saying that the photos would be ruined, Itō replies that they’re all of Chinese pigs and weren’t needed.

As Ah Chang starts to win Itō’s approval and trust, he is offered a passport for doing the work. Wang interjects, replying that Ah Chang has a wife, who he claims to be Lin, in order to secure two passports. Itō agrees and Wang brings over Lin to the studio to live with Ah Chang as his wife to strengthen the ruse. Lin, who was humiliated earlier when the Japanese attempted to make her sing while stripping naked, was then saved by a soldier who had been hiding from the Japanese. Lin smuggles the soldier, Song Cunyi, into the studio as well. When Ah Chang is suspicious of Lin who questions if there’s a family living in the studio, Lin proves her loyalty to China by opening her boxes to reveal a smuggled Song. They all decide to try to work together to survive, the family and Song hiding in the basement, Ah Chang developing the photos slowly and poorly to maintain his position and Lin gathering supplies and food.

The initial rolls yield staged propaganda of Japanese-Chinese harmony, but deeper processing uncovers negatives of war crimes: executions, burnings, mutilations, and assaults. The group secretly duplicates and hides these. Itō, initially seeming humane, exposes his sadism by joining the violence and collecting photos as souvenirs. Tensions mount amid forced labor, traumas, and Wang’s opportunistic threats.

As the occupation drags on and Japanese forces face broader setbacks, orders intensify to eliminate hiding spots. Frustrated by the poor quality of the photos, and growing suspect of the intentions of Ah Chang, Itō secures a Japanese photo developer to start developing the photos. Recognizing the threat, Song kills the newcomer during an outing, martyring himself. Blamed, Wang confronts Lin, urging silence for their escape.

Itō then figures out how to develop photos himself, and is tasked with disposing of Ah Chang. However, he can’t bring himself to shoot Ah Chang, and instead gives him the two passports that he promised for his work. The group decide to cast lots to decide who should take the passports which are modifiable, and Jin’s wife and daughter end up winning the passports. When they leave however, they find that Itō had told the Japanese guards that whoever used those passports were to be shot on sight, and the guards end up killing and raping both the mother and daughter.

Wang storms the studio, demanding Lin leave, just as Itō and his superior arrive, suspicious of the unused passports. When the superior attempts to rape Lin, Wang resists and is shot by Itō. Ah Chang attacks Itō, Jin kills the superior, and Jin blinds Itō with acid. Discovering Wang’s family passports, they assign them to Jin, Lin, and Jin’s infant son. Itō revives and attacks; Ah Chang burns his negatives as a distraction, allowing the others to flee. Ah Chang was stabbed by Itō and he died as the fire burnt down the photo studio.

At the gate, the baby’s cry exposes them. Jin sacrifices himself so Lin and the child reach the Nanjing Safety Zone. There, it’s revealed the group had sewn duplicates of the atrocity negatives into their clothes, ensuring their survival, while they fabricated the negatives of Chinese residents as the ones taken by Itō. The photos are disseminated to global journalists, sparking international condemnation. Humiliated by his failure to prevent the leakage of his photos and realising Ah Chang’s deception, Itō committed suicide by harakiri, and another superior, who personally shot Itō in the head thereafter, covers up Itō’s death as a heroic death in the line of duty.

Post-war, the Nanjing Massacre’s architects are sentenced to death at tribunals. Lin, raising Jin’s son, photographs their executions in the style of Japanese atrocity images. The spirits of Ah Chang, Wang, Song, Jin, and other victims observe, their story preserved.

During the end credits, the film shows footage of historical sites in modern-day Nanjing. A hand holds out pictures taken in the exact same locations during the massacre.

Last Updated: September 24, 2025 at 00:54