In the western world we are conditioned to believe that World War II began on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Our images of the Second World War are of the Holocaust, Blitzkrieg, the Battle of Britain, D-Day, etc. This documentary does a very good job of introducing viewers to what the title itself calls "The Forgotten War" - the war between Japan and China that start in 1937, more than two years before war broke out in Europe, and that became a de facto part of World War II once Japan attacked the British and American possessions in Asia and the Pacific.
I knew about the Sino-Japanese war, but my knowledge of it was limited. I was aware of Japan's occupation of Manchuria, the "Rape of Nanjing" and the co-operation between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese (led by Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung respectively) in the face of the common enemy. But there was a lot of information here that I wasn't aware of that made this very interesting.
I would say that it skims the surface rather than going into depth - which is understandable - but it will likely encourage viewers to go more deeply on their own. I didn't like the cartoonish graphics that were used to illustrate various scenes from the war. That somehow seemed to lessen the importance of the events being described. I also thought that there should have been more depth given to the co-operation between the Nationalists and Communists. But those quibbles aside, this was a very good introduction to this piece of history.
It was narrated by Oxford University Professor Rana Mitter, who was down to earth enough to keep me watching, but academic enough to help me learn - which isn't always an easy balancing act. Overall, this was very well done. (8/10)
I knew about the Sino-Japanese war, but my knowledge of it was limited. I was aware of Japan's occupation of Manchuria, the "Rape of Nanjing" and the co-operation between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese (led by Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung respectively) in the face of the common enemy. But there was a lot of information here that I wasn't aware of that made this very interesting.
I would say that it skims the surface rather than going into depth - which is understandable - but it will likely encourage viewers to go more deeply on their own. I didn't like the cartoonish graphics that were used to illustrate various scenes from the war. That somehow seemed to lessen the importance of the events being described. I also thought that there should have been more depth given to the co-operation between the Nationalists and Communists. But those quibbles aside, this was a very good introduction to this piece of history.
It was narrated by Oxford University Professor Rana Mitter, who was down to earth enough to keep me watching, but academic enough to help me learn - which isn't always an easy balancing act. Overall, this was very well done. (8/10)
