Inspired by the real events of the Lisbon Maru, a Japanese military cargo ship carrying over 1,800 British prisoners of war (POWs), the film "Dongji Rescue," now in Chinese theaters, brings to life a little-known WWII rescue.

After the ship was sunk by a U.S. submarine – which did not know it was taking the POWs from Hong Kong to Japan – off the coast of the Zhoushan Islands in east China's Zhejiang Province, local fishermen braved the waves, danger and fear of Japanese reprisals to save more than 380 POWs. Check out these posters capturing the local heroes' fearless mission at a perilous sea.