The Flowers Of War

Beautiful Movie
I will not be a reviewer that drops the whole story on you! I really don't like that, as I think any movie should be judged by the viewer. That being said, This is a movie you must see for yourself! The story does start with a bit of the American cliche on Christian Bale's character, however, after that the story is so very good.

This movie effectively embraces and conveys so many human virtues and flaws in a way I think so many could relate to, and it is beautifully told. This movie is brutal at times and yet delves into the deepest parts of our souls.

The story itself is narrated from the viewpoint of a young Chinese girl involved in what happened. Without giving anything away the set-up is an American mortician is summoned to a Cathedral in Nanking in 1937 (the Rape of Nanking) he poses as a priest in charge of a group of convent schoolgirls, a group of Chinese prostitutes arrive, then the Japanese. No one here is perfect, nor is anyone evil, they are human...

Atrocities of War
If you've read Iris Chang's non-fiction book "The Rape of Nanking" you have some idea of what horrors to expect. As we know, in 1937 the Japanese invaded China; after conquering Shanghai, they turned their attention to the capitol, Nanking. The result was the slaughter of over 200,000 people.

In this movie, based on the novel by Galing Yan ("Xiu Xiu, the Sent-Down Girl"), we have a fictionalized story in this chaotic setting. We are in a church compound where two groups seek shelter: the first, a dozen convent girls fleeing Japanese soldiers, and the second, a gaggle of "working girls" from a prominent brothel who throw their suitcases over the wall and demand sanctuary. A drunk but frightened Western mortician has come to prepare a priest for burial, and our story begins.....

These were the few actors I could pick out of the cast:
* Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight") is the mortician, boozy and rude; Bale seems to enjoy playing a crude American who laughs...

Tragedy meets Beauty
I am a huge Christian Bale fan and have been before his mega Blockbusters and Academy Award. To put this out there now I would classify this as a Foreign Film with a great British Actor as the focal point. To be fair this is more of a survival movie than a war movie.It also has some intense scenes with violence directed at females so if that makes you squeamish, I would still recommend the movie, however turn away from said scenes.

This story does not try to overdo itself like many American Films that blow war movies out of proportion. It is not involved with an absurd love story, however hints at it. I cannot compare it to any movie I have seen because it is unlike any other I have viewed and really tugs at your heart strings. The musical score compliments the themes and atmosphere perfectly, with children's choir music to sad traditional Chinese music. The acting in this movie is great! Like many who see this movie, they probably will not identify any of the...

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