Documentary “Twenty-Two”

    “Twenty-two” is a documentary about the very innocent "comfort women" victims and their sufferings during the Japanese War of aggression against China. It was directed by Ke Guo, a sensitive artist who decided to shed light on this dark subject in order to ease those women’s burden and also to protect future generations as well. The film unfolds the experience of 22 survivors and previous "comfort women" in mainland China. It shows their living conditions in the series and it includes the oral statements of individual elderly people who were previously Comfort Women as well as of people who had cared for them and even helped them or just knew them back then and gave testimonies. The film includes descriptions of their suffering, which are the recorded testimonies of real people on true events. Consequently, the film has proven to be of great historical significance. We can see that the directors responsibly report the events with strict standards, with historical pictures but not fictional plots, because their own existence goes beyond the image（1,2,3）ad the story was based on reality spoken through the mouths of the victims themselves.

    We know that during World War II, "comfort women" in China and other countries, as a vulnerable group plundered for freedom and health, most of them did not taste "liberation" even after Japan's surrender. They suffered all kinds of hardships and abuse during the war. However, when they returned to their hometown after those hardships, what was waiting for them was not sympathy, but endless discrimination, insult, and exclusion. People labeled them through their own subjectivity. In some ordinary people's minds, they were shameful. But they carried the past that others wouldn’t have the courage to face.

Video 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQcQAGS7w3Y&t=122s

Reference

1. Jenkins, M. (2017, September 07). 'Twenty Two' looks at the legacy of rape, torture and imprisonment of WWII's 'comfort women'. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/twenty-two-looks-at-the-legacy-of-rape-torture-and-imprisonment-of-wwiis-comfort-women/2017/09/07/d4829e12-8f34-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?utm_term=.34057fab9f81
2. Kotzathanasis, P., Kotzathanasispanos.kotzathanasispkotzathanasisPKotzathanasis, P., Panos.kotzathanasis, Pkotzathanasis, PKotzathanasis, & Panos KotzathanasisMy name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid. (2020, December 03). Documentary Review: Twenty Two (2015) by Ke Guo. Retrieved from https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/12/documentary-review-twenty-two-2015-by-ke-guo/
3. Palmer, S., About the author Stephen Palmer Millionaire Playboy by day, Author, A. T., Stephen Palmer Millionaire Playboy by day, & Read all posts by Stephen Palmer. (2017, October 02). Twenty Two. Retrieved from https://www.easternkicks.com/reviews/twenty-two