"The Tokyo Trial," a historical film recounting the trial of top Japanese war criminals at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East 60 years ago, opens nationwide today. At media previews this week in Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai, the film won high praise from both audiences and critics.

The movie focuses on the trial of 28 Japanese war criminals at the end of World War II in 1946 and depicts how the eloquent Mei Ruao, a Chinese judge, charged the Japanese for war crimes, maintaining China's dignity on the international stage.

"This part of history has been submerged for too long and many people don't know the facts. Even when I got the script, my impression of this part of history was a few words like 'Tokyo trial,' and 'Hideki Tojo.' To show the trial and to tell people what really happened at the trial is of great importance," said director Gao Shuqun.

In fact, the Tokyo trial was the biggest international trial in history, even larger than the Nuremberg trials. It lasted two and a half years, from May 1946 to November 1948. During 818 public sessions, trial records reached 48,000 pages; and 419 witnesses gave testimony.

The movie version is Gao's feature film debut after gaining a reputation for directing realistic TV dramas. Some music critics said the music in the movie was reminiscent of "Schindler's List." The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television censors reportedly approved the film without cuts, and some critics say the movie is likely to be the latest dark horse success since "Crazy Stone."

"The most important thing about the movie is that it's true to history," said Gao. "That Mei insisted on sentencing criminals to death is true. The dialogue between Mei and war criminal Hideki Tojo is the original based on the trial record. The courtroom and the Japanese restaurants are replications of the real ones. Even the tiles used for the buildings are made with Japanese technology. What we're trying to do is to show the historical accuracy and legal authenticity," he added.

However, Zhang Peiji, who went through the trial as an assistant to one of the prosecutors, said some details of the film were inaccurate.

He said the clothes war criminals wore were not suits but army uniforms. In the movie, Chinese judges and prosecutors talk to each other before and after the trial. Zhang said the rule was that they were not allowed to talk in private.

The mainstream film attracted Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland stars, including Kenneth Tsang, Eric Tsang, Damian Lau, Ying Da, heartthrob Ken Zhu and Kelly Lin.

The movie also attracted U.S. and Japanese actors. Gao said he had thought Japanese actors would turn down the opportunity to perform in this historical movie, but they accepted the plot and delivered professional performances. About 80 percent of the dialogue is in English and Japanese.

With an investment of 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million), Gao said Japanese distributors have expressed interest in buying the screening rights for Japan.