1946年5月3日至1948年11月12日，美、中、英、法等11国各自指派1名法官组成远东国际军事法庭，在东京对二战中的日本首要甲级战犯东条英机、土肥原贤等人进行国际审判。梅汝璈先生代表中国参加审判，任中国驻国际法庭法律代表团团长、首席检察官和首席法官。影片即以此为背景，借助先生的第一视角，分作明暗两线展开。
1 座次之争
尚未开庭，梅汝璈先生即对中国的座次问题提出了质疑：
梅：I believe the seating order of the judges in this trial should follow the order of signatures on the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.China was second on the list.
老卫：My dear Mei,this is a courtroom,not a reenactment of surrender.
梅：Then perhaps,Sir William could explain his reasons for this arrangement?
老卫：Dr.Mei,this is has been the common practice.
梅：What common practice?Whose practice?Isn’t following the order of signatures in the Instrument of Surrender a common practice?
老卫：Dr.Mei,we are here to judge war criminals.Why are you making fuss over such a trivial matter?
梅：This is no trivial matter.Besides,our concern here is what’s right and what’s wrong.There’s nothing trivial about it.
义正词严，掷地有声，梅汝璈先生如此力陈其因。面对对方的哄骗和威诱，他丝毫不为所动，直斥英国的妥协退让，并发出了中国法官最深沉而动情的怒吼：
In this war against Japanese aggression China has suffered the most and fought the longest,the hardest.The Britain,on the other hand,has been retreating and surrendering time and time again.It’s unthinkable that China’s place in this trial should be relegated to a spot below Britain.I do not believe the government of China will agree to this arrangement…In addition,I don’t believe that this seating arrangement came from the Supreme Commander himself.
面对着话语强势的美国和欧洲，梅汝璈的心理压力可想而知，他一面要有理有据地驳斥对方之安排，同时又不能丧失作为战胜国代表的尊严。如果他接受了这样的座次安排，国人就会斥责他的软弱无能，中国在抗战中的付出和牺牲也必将在庭前就大打折扣。盟国会如何看？他作为代表团成员要如何自处？思绪和纠结都化为一缕缕香烟飘散。幸而，等来的是成功的消息：
大卫：Dr.Mei,you win.Your country should be proud to have a fighter like you.
梅：I’m not a fighter.I’m a judge,a Chinese judge.
短短一言，却将中国法官的骨气、尊严与优雅展现地淋漓尽致。镜头扫过梅先生的脸庞，我感受到一种肃穆，又倏忽间生发一种热泪盈眶的感动。
2 屠杀之辩
在梅汝璈先生的提议下，法官会议决定将南京大屠杀作为一个单独单元进行审理。面对累累罪行，辩护人广濑一郎信口雌黄，反责证人；被告更是提出日本侵略战争的目的是为了“兄弟好”“只是弟弟没有理解哥哥的爱”这样的荒谬主张。好在不同的证人轮番出庭作证，用自己的亲身经历指控，才没有让日本战犯抹去自己的罪行。
尽管如此，最终国际法庭认定的南京大屠杀死难人数也只有20多万，和中国方面最终公布的调查结果30多万人相距甚远。正如梅汝璈先生所记述的那样：
“转眼到东京已经快一年了，不仅中国政府没有想到，就连我这个身在其中的法官都没有想到，一场战胜国对战败国罪恶昭著的战犯的合法审判竟会如此复杂艰难。这里只有欢乐，可我怎么也融不进去，欢乐是别人的，我只是个看客而已。”
3 最终之判
对东条英机等首脑的审判最后进行，他们负隅顽抗的力度也最大。土肥原贤二一言不发、龟缩其中，希图利用英美法系漏洞摆脱审判；板垣征四郎自书辩护词，狂言与中国检查团大战三百回合；东条英机更是一意孤行，认为自己只是在遵循宪法行事，即使重来依旧会发动战争……面对一干暴徒，约瑟夫季南先生怀着对死难者的极大同情与刽子手的深刻愤恨，向国际法庭做出了最后的表述：
Throughout the history of civilization,no one has ever seen human nature at such a peak of crudity and barbarity.Countless people have died horrendous unthinkable deaths to feed Japan’s insatiable appetite for expansion.By their actions,they have challenged human civilization!They have challenged peace!And they challenged the whole world!Their common objective,their criminal objective,was to ensure the domination of Japan’s empire,there is no greater crime than plotting and executing a war of aggression.The security of the world and it’s people was threatened by this plot and destroyed by this war,the only possible outcome of which is the great suffering the world has faced.
4 死刑之断
对战犯最终处理如何，国际法庭的法官分成截然不同的两派——支持死刑和拒绝使用死刑。面对着恶人恐难受处的局面，梅汝璈痛心疾首，甚至生无可恋。他曾想过就此了结，好友极力劝阻，并反激其只是懦夫，于是他重新鼓起信心，同各国法官游说劝阻。他在投票前的论述尤其动人心魄，也让我深受震撼：
Lao Wei, my dear judge. All of you here are legal experts from all over the world.I want to ask you what is law and what is the function of it.Throughout the 817th long tribunal between the two years,We finally confirm that they are guilty.But now we were talking about the civilization and the religion,Gentlemen,This is not classroom of collage,This is not temper,This is court!What we need to talk about is how to punish the criminals.l think the role of religion is to tell people what can be done, to tell people to do good and to forgive.
On the other hand, Law prescribes what cannot be done. Otherwise, you will be punished by law.You will have to go to the guillotine and the scaffold.This is law.This is why I insist on imposing the death penalty on the war criminals.Besides robing the resource of other countries and expanding his territory,Japan also killed thousands of innocent people.Japanese army's plundering, raping ,backfiring and killing.They had killed numerous innocent people——the Chinese, the Koreans, the Filipinos, the Singaporeans,the Americans,the Englishmen…These crimes are not enough to bring them to justice, If neither Japan nor the war criminals receive the severest punishment,who can assure that they will never wage war again?Who can assure that Japan will never invade other countries?Who can assure that the Japanese militaristic spirit will never revive?Anyone of you here is able to make an assurance like this？What I wanted to say,what I should’ve said,it’s done.We can vote now for all those who died in the war…for closing eyes in deaths.
最终结果是6票支持死刑，5票反对，日本甲级战犯最终被除以极刑。事后的梅汝璈先生不无动魄地说——至今，我都不敢回想，如果我们这些赞同死刑的法官里不到六票的话，我会怎么样，中国人又会怎么样，世界又会怎么样？……我只能说，我，尽力了。
是的，时至今日，我们回看这段足以永久载入史册的大事件，依旧会为梅汝璈先生的表现所折服。这不但关乎战争之定性，也蕴含一个国家的尊严。先生用自己的言行向世界证明，中国的大法官不仅具有世界级的能力和格局，也有令人侧目的民族气节与魄力。也正是因为有许许多多如梅汝璈先生这样的人，中华民族才得以在艰难中龃龉前行，在暗夜里积蓄能量，并在光亮中勇敢发声。
硝烟褪去，历史铭记；斯人已逝，脊梁挺立。
