Netizens slam inappropriate behavior during "comfort women" documentary

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A man in Shanghai prompted online outrage after footage was shared of him bursting into laughter while watching “Twenty-Two,” a Chinese documentary telling the story of the surviving sex slaves from during the Second World War.

According to a staff member from the local cinema, the unidentified man was caught laughing despite being urged by his neighbors to keep quiet.

Screenshot of the interview by Guancha.cn.

“He was acting like he was watching a comedy while the others were indulging in a stifling ambience of the heart-wrenching film,” the staff member told Guancha news portal, adding the man also roared “it’s none of your business” at one of his neighbors after being chastised.

The exasperated man even threw his leftover popcorn and beverages at the remaining audience members and started to turn violent, the staff member further noted.

Screenshot of the interview by Guancha.cn.

Thousands of netizens have flooded to the Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform to slam his misconduct.

“His behavior is disrespectful to the history,” @pifumeirongzhangzongqi commented.

Another Weibo user @XujinhuaSEOyouhua said, “it is really disappointing to see his attitude of indifference towards such a film.”

“Twenty-Two” is director Guo Ke’s second documentary to center around the surviving Chinese “comfort women” who were forced into sex slavery by Japanese invaders during World War II. It premiered on Monday, coinciding with the Fifth International Memorial Day for Comfort Women.

90-year-old Huang Youliang died on Saturday. /Xinhua Photo

The film, named after the number of Chinese “comfort women” who were still alive at the time of filming in 2014, was released on the heels of the death of 90-year-old Huang Youliang, the last one of the eight “comfort women” from Chinese mainland who had been struggling for years since 2001 to sue the Japanese government but eventually lost the lawsuit in 2010.

Poster of "Twenty-Two."

As of Tuesday, the film has ranked in over 10 million yuan (1.49 million US dollars) and was rated 9.0 out of 10 on Douban, a leading Chinese film review website.

'Comfort women' documentary 'Twenty Two' opens in China