The Flowers of War (2011)

An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Heng Liu (screenplay), Geling Yan (novel)

Stars:

Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Bale	...	John Miller
Ni Ni	...	Yu Mo
Xinyi Zhang	...	Shu (as Zhang Xinyi)
Tianyuan Huang	...	George Chen (as Huang Tianyuan)
Xiting Han	...	Yi (as Han Xiting)
Doudou Zhang	...	Ling (as Zhang Doudou)
Dawei Tong	...	Major Li
Atsuro Watabe	...	Colonel Hasegawa
Kefan Cao	...	Mr. Meng (as Cao Kefan)
Yangchunzi Yuan	...	Mosquito (as Yuan Yangchunzi)
Jia Sun	...	Hua (as Sun Jia)
Yuemin Li	...	Dou (as Li Yuemin)
Bai Xue	...	Lan
Takashi Yamanaka	...	Lieutenant Asakura
Shigeo Kobayashi	...	Lieutenant Kato

Storyline

In 1937 China, during the second Sino-Japanese war, a mortician, John (Christian Bale) arrives at a Catholic church in Nanjing to prepare a priest for burial. Upon arrival he finds himself the lone adult among a group of convent girl students and prostitutes from a nearby brothel. When he finds himself in the unwanted position of protector of both groups from the horrors of the invading Japanese army, he discovers the meaning of sacrifice and honor.

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Plot Keywords:

food shortage | starving child | attempted rape | abusive stepfather | sexual abuse | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence including a sexual assault, disturbing images, and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was Steven Spielberg who recommended Christian Bale for the lead role.

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Quotes

Yu Mo: Maybe with your help, I can save them.

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Connections

Featured in The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012)

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Soundtracks

Qin Huai Legend II (Blood-Stained Strings)
Performed by Li Jia (pipa)

User Reviews

Zhang's best work In 10 years

Someone wrote and I quote : "there was never a moment of this movie that will bring tears in someone's eyes". Whomever wrote this is not Chinese for sure! I started crying right after 15 minutes in the cinema .This whole movie's dialog is in Nan Jing Hua (local accent mandarin ). Sounds funny at beginning , but it's more easy to bring audience into the story with characters . Zhangyimou's movie are famous for bright colors and nice view since he use to be cameraman. But this movie is so much more than the visual! Color still pretty though, the paper shop, those QiPao, girls make-up , everything is pretty . I guess to ruin the beautiful things defines the tragedy. My friend who watched it before told me do not watched it in the morning , because it will upset you whole day. So I went to cinema in the afternoon, and I could sleep until 5 am this morning. Comparing to Zhang Yi Mou's earlier work like " hero", this is definitely his best work in 10years!

Details

Country:

China Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin English Japanese Shanghainese

Release Date:

16 December 2011 (China)

Also Known As:

13 Flowers of Nanjing

Box Office

Budget:

$94,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$48,448, 22 January 2012

Gross USA:

$311,434

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,855,644

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beijing New Picture Film Co., Edko Films, New Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby (Dolby Surround 7.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1