整部影片很安静，老人们过着普普通通的生活。
说起曾遭到日本人非人的待遇，她们悲痛，却又十分隐忍，不知道内心要多强大，才能勇敢活下来，说出来。
为什么要拍这部片子呢？导演郭柯如是说：
"I made Twenty Two because I wanted to see who they are," said Guo.
“我拍《二十二》，是因为我想知道她们是谁。”
"When Japan invaded China, some 200,000 Chinese women fell victim to the Japanese army's sex slavery."
“当年日本入侵中国，20多万中国妇女被迫沦为日军的性奴隶。”
"Those elderly women survived unimaginable sufferings. But where are they now? What kind of life do they live? Are they happy or sad? What do they think about?"
“这些老人从无法想象的苦难中活了下来。但是她们现在在哪呢？她们又过着怎样的生活？她们是开心还是难过呢？她们在想些什么？”
影片的内容很克制。郭柯说，自己不会去强迫她们说什么，留着她们的沉默，让观众过去感受。
"I never pressed them because some were really reluctant to talk about it. When confronted with questions, they pondered over them. In five seconds, they kept silent, but from their eyes, audiences can find the answer they want to know," said Guo.
“有些老人实在不愿谈起，我从不会去强迫。面对一些问题，她们会陷入深思。5秒钟，她们都沉默着，但从她们的眼睛中，观众能找到想要的答案。”
他没有使用过多的电影手法，也没有加入太多史实，只希望能看到这些老人最真实的一面。
"What I want is to show the real part of the elderly, so I tried not to use montage and historical facts. We cannot make sure that historical facts could reflect their real experiences."
“我想展现的是老人们真实的部分，所以我尝试没用蒙太奇手法和史实影像。我们不确定，那些史实，是否能反映她们的真实遭遇。”
为了把对老人们的伤害最小化，他们充分尊重老人的意愿，不想说就不说，不想拍就不拍。
他们把机器、设备都安排在离老人们比较远的地方，中午老人午休他们就不拍了。
导演说，老人们会热情招呼他们，会关心他们。
“会把家里的东西给我们吃，会担心我们那么多小伙子中午有没有好好休息。就像老年人看着晚辈一样，她也很爱护你。”
