{ "id": "epeznvka4h", "slug": "john-rabe-2009-film", "title": "John Rabe (2009 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "label": "War and historical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics", "label": "Historical dramas and epics", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics.alpha-symbols-to-l", "label": "Titles symbols to L", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics.alpha-symbols-to-l" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics.alpha-symbols-to-l.alpha-en-to-l", "label": "Titles En to L", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics.alpha-symbols-to-l.alpha-en-to-l" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: War and historical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "label": "War and historical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical" } ] }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "John Rabe (2009) is a German-French-Chinese historical drama directed by Florian Gallenberger, starring Ulrich Tukur as the Siemens manager and Nazi Party member who led the Nanking Safety Zone; it won four Lolas including Best Film.", "snippet": "John Rabe (2009) is a German-French-Chinese historical drama directed by Florian Gallenberger, starring Ulrich Tukur as the Siemens manager and Nazi Party member who led the Nanking Safety Zone; it won four Lolas including Best Film.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.historical-dramas-and-epics.alpha-symbols-to-l.alpha-en-to-l", "markdown": "# John Rabe (2009 film)\n\n*John Rabe* is a 2009 historical drama film directed by Florian Gallenberger that dramatizes the efforts of the German businessman [John Rabe](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe) to protect Chinese civilians during the 1937 Nanking Massacre. A co-production between Germany, France, and China, it stars Ulrich Tukur in the title role, with [Daniel Brühl](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-bruhl), Steve Buscemi, and Anne Consigny, and is based on Rabe's published diaries.[1](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14279&pyear=2009&s1=228) • [2](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3302993/how-2009-movie-john-rabe-depicts-nanking-massacre-china-through-western-lens)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Florian Gallenberger, who also wrote the screenplay[1](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14279&pyear=2009&s1=228) |\n| Countries and runtime | Germany, France, China; 134 minutes[1](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14279&pyear=2009&s1=228) |\n| Budget | $20 million[3](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article) |\n| Release | World premiere at the Berlinale Special on 7 February 2009; German theatrical release 2 April 2009[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/john-rabe_c71fa52d52764338ad924fbd868897aa) |\n| Principal cast | Ulrich Tukur (John Rabe), Daniel Brühl (Dr. Georg Rosen), Steve Buscemi (Dr. Robert Wilson), Anne Consigny (Valérie Dupres)[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/john-rabe_c71fa52d52764338ad924fbd868897aa) |\n| Major awards | Four Lolas at the 2009 Deutscher Filmpreis, including Best Feature Film in Gold and Best Actor[5](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/1393809) |\n| Critical scores | 75% on Rotten Tomatoes (36 reviews); 57 on Metacritic[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_rabe) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/john-rabe/critic-reviews/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and subject\n\nThe film follows John Rabe, a Siemens employee and [Nazi Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/nazi-party) member who had lived in Nanking for nearly 30 years and managed the local Siemens operation.[9](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/132044/kritik.html) As Japanese forces approach the city in 1937, Rabe, together with a group of foreign residents, establishes a safety zone that shelters Chinese civilians; the film's end titles state that 300,000 Chinese were massacred.[10](https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/61_S4.pdf) The historical International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone was formed in November 1937 by 15 resident Western foreigners, seven Americans, four Britons, three Germans, and one Dane, who selected Rabe as chairman; the zone covered 3.86 square kilometers, roughly the size of New York City's Central Park.[10](https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/61_S4.pdf)\n\nThe screenplay takes its narrative grounding from Rabe's diaries, which came to light more than forty years after his death in 1950.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/features/john-rabe/4043040.article?storyCode=4043040) The film also depicts Rabe's return to Germany in 1938, where he was arrested by the Gestapo for collaborating with the Chinese, and his death in poverty after the Second World War.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article)\n\n## Production\n\nThe project was developed for almost ten years by Hofmann & Voges Entertainment, with Jan Mojto's EOS Entertainment and Benjamin Herrmann's Majestic Filmproduktion co-producing with Nicolas Traube's Paris-based Pampa Production and Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Pictures, in collaboration with the German public broadcaster ZDF.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article) Huayi Brothers also handled distribution in China. [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on 18 October 2007 in Shanghai and at original locations in Nanjing, running into early 2008.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article) • [4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/john-rabe_c71fa52d52764338ad924fbd868897aa) Funding came from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Bayerischer Bankenfonds, Medienboard Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg), the German Federal Film Board (FFA), the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), and the German-French Mini-Traité.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article)\n\nGallenberger, a Munich-born filmmaker who trained at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film and won an Academy Award for his student short *Quiero ser* (1999), traveled to China in 2006 with Rabe's diary as his source material.[8](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/248/191/49144/presse/john-rabe-le-juste-de-nankin-presskit-french.pdf) In his director's statement he describes being told by telephone that the [Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-committee-of-the-chinese-communist-party) had decided only one film on the subject would be authorized, and that a Chinese director had already been chosen; Lu Chuan's *City of Life and Death* was that film, released the same year.[8](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/248/191/49144/presse/john-rabe-le-juste-de-nankin-presskit-french.pdf) • [2](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3302993/how-2009-movie-john-rabe-depicts-nanking-massacre-china-through-western-lens)\n\n## Reception\n\n**Awards.** At the Deutscher Filmpreis 2009 the film was the leading winner, taking four Lolas: Best Feature Film in Gold, Best Actor for Ulrich Tukur, Best Production Design for Tu Ju Hua, and Best Costume Design for Lisy Christl, with nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actor (Buscemi).[5](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/1393809) • [12](https://www.deutscher-filmpreis.de/film/john-rabe/) It also received Bavarian Film Awards for Best Actor and for the producers of the Best Film, the Bernhard-Wicki-Filmpreis at Filmfest München, and the audience award at the Festival of German Films, London.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/john-rabe_c71fa52d52764338ad924fbd868897aa)\n\n**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 75% from 36 reviews, with the critics' consensus noting that it strays into predictable melodrama but is worth watching for the light it shines on a neglected corner of Chinese history; the Metacritic Metascore is 57.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_rabe) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/john-rabe/critic-reviews/) Reviewers repeatedly compared it to *Schindler's List*, calling Rabe the \"Schindler of China\" and noting the irony that the rescuer was a loyal, uncritical member of the Nazi Party.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/features/john-rabe/4043040.article?storyCode=4043040) • [13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/01/city-of-war-the-story-of-john-rabe-review) Peter Bradshaw, film critic for *The Guardian*, described the film as glossy and muted, and noted that Rabe's forlorn postwar existence is not shown.[13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/01/city-of-war-the-story-of-john-rabe-review) French critics were cooler on average, giving the film 2.8 of 5 stars across 21 press reviews on AlloCiné.[14](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-132044/critiques/presse/)\n\n**Distribution.** After its German release on 2 April 2009 and a first Chinese showing on 28 April, the film reached the United States in a limited release on 21 May 2010 through Strand Releasing, grossing $67.3K.[10](https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/61_S4.pdf) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_rabe) In France it opened on 16 February 2011 under the title *John Rabe, le juste de Nankin*.[8](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/248/191/49144/presse/john-rabe-le-juste-de-nankin-presskit-french.pdf)\n\n## Criticism of historical treatment\n\nSeveral reviewers took issue with the film's Western perspective. Mark Jenkins, writing for NPR and KQED, observed that most of the foreigners who worked to save lives in Nanking were American, a fact the film's narrative, which emphasizes European benefactors, does not reflect; he also noted that the headmistress Valerie Dupres played by Anne Consigny is a fictionalization of Minnie Vautrin, an American born in Illinois, and that John Magee, who filmed crucial footage of victims, is excluded in favor of the invented character Langshu ([Zhang Jingchu](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-jingchu)).[15](https://www.kqed.org/arts/29742/john_rabe_in_a_grim_nanking_false_notes_of_hope) Andrew Schenker in *Slant Magazine* argued that the film allows [Chinese characters](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-characters) onscreen as victims only, and that its sentimentalized treatment of Rabe's heroism obscures the scale of the deaths.[16](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/john-rabe/)\n\nThe film has also drawn criticism from Japanese historical-revisionist quarters. Moteki Hiromichi, Secretary General of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact, an organization that disputes the mainstream account of the Nanking Massacre, called the film propaganda and objected to its closing claim of 300,000 massacre victims, arguing that Rabe's diary does not record his witnessing a murder.[10](https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/61_S4.pdf) Mainstream scholarship treats Rabe's diaries as a significant but contested source: David Askew of Monash University published a peer-reviewed study of the diary's evidence in 2002, and ongoing research projects examine the diaries' verifiability and their politicization in the history disputes between China and Japan.[17](https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/nanking-1937-38-the-evidence-from-the-diary-of-john-rabe/) • [18](https://www.dijtokyo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2019.6-research-poster-tw-rabe-project.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [John Rabe, Busan International Film Festival archive](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=14279&pyear=2009&s1=228)\n2. [How 2009 movie John Rabe depicts Nanking massacre in China through a Western lens, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3302993/how-2009-movie-john-rabe-depicts-nanking-massacre-china-through-western-lens)\n3. [Huayi Brothers to co-produce Gallenberger's John Rabe, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/huayi-brothers-to-co-produce-gallenbergers-john-rabe/4034765.article)\n4. [John Rabe, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/john-rabe_c71fa52d52764338ad924fbd868897aa)\n5. [Deutscher Filmpreis in Gold für \"John Rabe\", Presseportal/ZDF](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7840/1393809)\n6. [John Rabe, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_rabe)\n7. [John Rabe critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/john-rabe/critic-reviews/)\n8. [John Rabe, le juste de Nankin press kit, UniFrance](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/248/191/49144/presse/john-rabe-le-juste-de-nankin-presskit-french.pdf)\n9. [John Rabe, FILMSTARTS.de review](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/132044/kritik.html)\n10. [Observations on the Film John Rabe, Moteki Hiromichi, Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact](https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/61_S4.pdf)\n11. [John Rabe review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/john-rabe/4043040.article?storyCode=4043040)\n12. [John Rabe, Deutscher Filmpreis](https://www.deutscher-filmpreis.de/film/john-rabe/)\n13. [City of War: The Story of John Rabe review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/01/city-of-war-the-story-of-john-rabe-review)\n14. [Critiques presse pour le film John Rabe, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-132044/critiques/presse/)\n15. ['John Rabe': In A Grim Nanking, False Notes Of Hope, KQED](https://www.kqed.org/arts/29742/john_rabe_in_a_grim_nanking_false_notes_of_hope)\n16. [Review: John Rabe, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/john-rabe/)\n17. [Nanking 1937-38: The evidence from the diary of John Rabe, David J. Askew, Monash University](https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/nanking-1937-38-the-evidence-from-the-diary-of-john-rabe/)\n18. [Research project on the Rabe Diaries, German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo](https://www.dijtokyo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2019.6-research-poster-tw-rabe-project.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › Historical dramas and epics › Titles symbols to L › Titles En to L*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"John Rabe (2009 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[John Rabe (2009 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"John Rabe (2009 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/john-rabe-2009-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "John Rabe is a German-French-Chinese historical drama directed by Florian Gallenberger, starring Ulrich Tukur as the Siemens manager and Nazi Party member who led the Nanking Safety Zone; it won four Lolas including Best Film." }