The premiere of a new Chinese historical film depicting the atrocities committed by Japan’s notorious Unit 731 during the Second World War has become a significant cultural event in China. The movie, titled 731 domestically and Evil Unbound internationally, opened on September 18, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1931 Mukden Incident, which marked the beginning of China’s resistance against Japanese aggression.
The film has immediately shattered box office records, serving as both a remembrance of past suffering and a forceful plea for safeguarding global peace.
The True Story Behind the Film
The film follows a vendor named Wang Yongzhang and other prisoners who were deceived into entering Unit 731’s “special prison.” They were lured by false promises of freedom in exchange for participating in medical research. Instead, the prisoners endured brutal experiments, including vivisection, frostbite tests, and gas poisoning, at the top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base in Harbin.
The film’s accuracy is rooted in nearly a decade of development. The production team used over a million words of archival documents from domestic and international sources to ensure the historical details were correct.
Jin Chengmin, the curator of the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, consulted on the film. He stated at the Harbin premiere, “The real history is far more brutal than what the film can depict.”
Jin, whose twenty-seven-year quest for justice was motivated by a haunting remark from a Japanese expert— “If even you have forgotten, how can we remember?”—hopes the film will draw global attention to this dark chapter.
From Box Office to Court of Justice
The public response in China has been overwhelming. On ticketing platforms Maoyan and Taopiaopiao, over seven million moviegoers clicked “want to see,” setting a new record for Chinese cinema. The film’s presale revenue surpassed 130 million yuan (approximately $18 million), and it grossed a staggering 345 million yuan on its opening day.
Within just four days, the total gross rapidly exceeded 1.23 billion yuan. The film also broke the Chinese cinema’s single-day screening record, peaking at 305,000 showings on September 20.
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Director Zhao Linshan became visibly emotional at the Harbin premiere. He said, “This premiere had to take place in this city. It is a tribute to all those who perished.” Zhao views the film’s theatrical release as a necessary act of historical documentation.
“I want to tell everyone that this is not just a film, it is historical evidence. Each of us is a witness,” he said at a second premiere event in Beijing. Zhao maintains that “exposure does not represent hatred; exposure is for awakening.”
The Legacy of Impunity
The film also addresses the controversial aftermath of Unit 731. The base director, Shiro Ishii, and other Japanese scientists received immunity from prosecution from the U.S. government in exchange for sharing their research with American biological defense programs.
This decision continues to provoke outrage in China. The atrocities themselves were systematically covered up by Japan after the war, with the facts kept hidden until 1995.
The film’s international rollout has already begun in Australia and New Zealand, with North American releases scheduled to follow. Screenings are also planned for South Korea, the U.K., Germany, and France.
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By releasing the film globally, producers aim to “place this chapter of history within the global anti-fascist memory and respond to the selective amnesia or avoidance of history in some nations,” according to cultural researcher Zhang Peng. Zhao Linshan has expressed hope for eventual screenings in Japan, urging, “Let this film gather the power of peace and carry it out into the world.”
