The theme of salvation in Chinese and Japanese war movies

This chapter explores the various notions of salvation presented in recent movies in Chinese and Japanese cinema about the Second World War, proposing that these films present cultural imaginings about saving the nation. In order to survive Euro-American imperialism, China and Japan had each strived to build a modern nation from the mid- to late nineteenth century onwards. Modernization was adopted as the ultimate means of self-strengthening and national salvation.