Dongji Rescue (Chinese: 东极岛) is a 2025 Chinese historical war action film directed by Guan Hu and Fei Zhenxiang, and starring Zhu Yilong, Leo Wu and Ni Ni. Based on the real-life Lisbon Maru incident during World War II, the film tells the story of Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to save over 300 British prisoners of war after a Japanese transport ship sank off the coast of Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang province, in 1942. The film was released in China on August 8, 2025.
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Plot
During World War II, on September 27, 1942, the Japanese cargo ship Lisbon Maru, carrying 1,816 British prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan, is torpedoed by an American submarine. The ship begins to sink slowly in the waters near Zhoushan, China. About two nautical miles from the attack site lies Dongji Island, a Chinese island then under Japanese occupation. Two pirates, Ah Bi and Ah Dang, live on the island.
One day, Ah Dang discovers an Englishman floating at sea. He rescues the man and pulls him aboard his boat, but Ah Bi stops him, believing the rescue is too dangerous. After returning to the island, Ah Dang disagrees with Ah Bi and goes back out to sea, eventually bringing the man to Dongji Island.
The man is Thomas Newman, one of the British prisoners of war thrown into the sea after the Lisbon Maru is attacked. Aware of Ah Dang's stubborn nature, Ah Bi asks Chen, a local schoolteacher, to communicate with Newman. Ah Bi then informs Mr. Wu, the father of the woman he loves, Ah Hua, about Newman's presence. Although Ah Bi repeatedly tries to drive Newman away, Ah Dang always intervenes.
