T he sinking of the Lisbon Maru, an extraordinary second world war story in which 384 British PoWs were saved from a bombed Japanese cargo liner by Chinese fishers, has recently been excavated in an exhaustive, emotional documentary . In Dongji Rescue, co-directed by Zhenxiang Fei and Guan Hu, this staggering tale gets a blockbuster makeover that involves Imax cameras and an $80m budget. The film opens with the stunning vista of the eponymous island, then under Japanese control. The seeds of discontent are there, as the local Chinese population are forbidden from fishing. Still, they endure the occupation with grim acceptance.

Standing apart from the pack are a pair of brothers, Abi (Zhu Yilong) and Adang (Wu Lei), orphans said to descend from pirates. Their physical prowess acquires a

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