A powerful World War II documentary, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, has been selected by China as its official entry in the International Feature Film category for the 2024 Oscars. It is a historical piece by Arthur Jones that explores one of the more esoteric yet surely darker aspects of the war: the story of the Japanese transport ship Lisbon Maru, torpedoed by a U.S. submarine in 1942, which carried British prisoners of war.
In the prestige category, documentary is the requirement to be submitted. Generally speaking, most of the entries in this category are narrative features. However, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru stands alone by way of its riveting subject matter, but more so for emotional depth and historical importance. A disastrous experience for more than 2,000 British POWs forms the basis of this movie: American forces, misconceiving the cargo of the Lisbon Maru, attack the vessel. In fact, the crew abandoned the sinking ship with many prisoners trapped in the hold to drown in it, while only a few were rescued by an exceptional rescue effort initiated by some local Chinese fishermen.
The documentary tells the story of this moment of humanity in the melee of war, wherein Chinese civilians at great risk lost their lives saving British soldiers. This is done through interviews with survivors, descendants, and historians to piece together personal stories involved in The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, thereby holding up a poignant reflection on shared trauma and bravery that crossed national borders during the war.
Thus, the Chinese selection of this film for the Oscars truly depicts the Chinese state’s need to concentrate attention on the state and national events, which open light over solidarity, compassion, and resiliency. The second aspect is ascertained to fit in with the trend that documentaries are winning high praise from the mainstream international awards, mainly since such non-fictional movies become increasingly crucial to tell stories as well as preserve cultural heritage.
No other filmmaker can capture the heart of an audience like Director Arthur Jones with such poignant documentaries. Some of his previous work includes The Six, about Chinese survivors who were on the Titanic. He does some very excellent work with exposing unknown parts of history. Indeed, Director Arthur Jones’s account of The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru by combining the combination of archival footage, accounts from eyewitnesses, and other expert commentaries actually tells a very important tale similar to that of the Lisbon Maru sinking story.
As China’s official Oscar submission, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru may actually create an unparalleled bond with audiences around the world at a very meaningful time when these are exactly the types of stories they would like to read about: stories of bravery, solidarity, and human sensitivity. It would be a historical landmark for documentary filmmaking and historical storytelling in the universal film paradigm.
