Men Behind the Sun (1988) dir. T.F. MouÂ
Men Behind the Sun bears the distinction of being both a historical drama and exploitation film. The Chinese film is based on the experiments of Unit 731, the secret military unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II that conducted experiments and research on biological warfare. Countless atrocities were committed against Chinese, Russian, American, and other persons, who were captured and essentially used as lab rats. Director Mou Tun-Fei, also known by his westernized name T.F. Mou, was inspired to make the film after learning of these atrocities.Â
While some of the characters, namely General Shiro Ishii, are based on real life persons, most of the characters are works of fiction. While the film features many different side-stories, the film mainly focuses on Unit 731′s Youth Corp, a group comprised of preteen boys who are trained to work in Unit 731 and the military at large. The boys are slowly made to lose their humanity. However, the boys become disillusioned over time and begin to question their authority.Â
Those who have heard of the film associate it with gore that is almost too real to be fake, which in most cases, is correct. The film is controversial as it features live rats being set on fire, the real autopsy of a young boy, real body parts, and fresh animal organs used as substitution for human organs. The film is also notable for its “cat scene”, in which a live cat appears to be mauled and eaten alive by rats. The director denies that the cat was killed, claiming that the cat was simply covered in honey and fake blood, which the rats licked up, and that the cat was rewarded with fish after the scene. Others who worked on the film have either backed up the director’s story or claimed the cat was actually killed.
The usage of corpses and the harming of live animals, while illegal today and still controversial then, can be explained by its country’s lack of SFX in their film industry. It is speculated that director Mou chose these macabre measures as he did not want to sacrifice the realism of the movie. Indeed, the movie was intended to shock and leave a lasting impression on its audience, as the real-life atrocities should.Â
At the end of the film, scrolling text gives a timeline of events after the film’s conclusion, and poses the question: “Did they die in vain?” referring to the over 3,000 captives used in the experiments, none of which made it out alive. After Japan’s surrender, Unit 731 was destroyed, with very little data collected from the research remaining, as was intended by the Japanese. What little surviving information about the unit’s horrors was used to make the film.Â
The majority of scientific and medical research gained from the torture of the captives is forever lost. So, did they die in vain?
The film has never received a remastered release on DVD as other films similar to its nature have. It was briefly available on Netflix before being pulled.
The film has also been shown under the (translated) titles of Black Sun: Unit 731 and Man Behind the Sun.
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