Overview

Clearly, the comfort woman controversy is far from resolved - and that explains why Zhongyi Ban has now completed his third documentary on the subject. "Give Me the Sun" introduces us to a group of seven aging Chinese women whose bodies and minds were irrevocably scarred by the unspeakable brutality inflicted on them during World War II, when they were being gang-raped for months until their families ransomed them. Some were lured into sexual slavery by locals working for the Japanese Army, who promised them work in factories or hospitals; others were simply abducted and enslaved in the nearest comfort stations. Chinese scholars have estimated that close to 100,000 women were forcibly taken from their homes during the war, although lack of official documentation has made it difficult for historians to reach an agreement on the exact figure.