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IMDbPro

The Flowers of War

Original title: Jin ling shi san chai
  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 2h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
54K
YOUR RATING
Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Jia Sun, Bai Xue, Xiting Han, Xinyi Zhang, and Yuemin Li in The Flowers of War (2011)
A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's raid of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Play trailer2:33
3 Videos
86 Photos
DramaHistoryRomance
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
54K
YOUR RATING
    • Yimou Zhang
    • Heng Liu(screenplay)
    • Geling Yan(novel)
  • Stars
    • Christian Bale
    • Ni Ni
    • Xinyi Zhang
    • Yimou Zhang
    • Heng Liu(screenplay)
    • Geling Yan(novel)
  • Stars
    • Christian Bale
    • Ni Ni
    • Xinyi Zhang
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 177User reviews
    • 138Critic reviews
    • 46Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos3

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 2:33
    Watch U.S. Version
    The Flowers Of War
    Trailer 2:29
    Watch The Flowers Of War
    The Flowers Of War
    Trailer 2:29
    Watch The Flowers Of War

    Photos86

    Christian Bale in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale and Tianyuan Huang in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale, Ni Ni, and Xinyi Zhang in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale and Ni Ni in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Ni Ni and Xinyi Zhang in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Ni Ni and Xinyi Zhang in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale and Yimou Zhang in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale and Ni Ni in The Flowers of War (2011)
    Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Jia Sun, Bai Xue, Xinyi Zhang, Yuemin Li, and Doudou Zhang in The Flowers of War (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Christian Bale
    Christian Bale
    • John Miller
    Ni Ni
    Ni Ni
    • Yu Mo
    Xinyi Zhang
    Xinyi Zhang
    • Shu
    • (as Zhang Xinyi)
    Tianyuan Huang
    • George Chen
    • (as Huang Tianyuan)
    Xiting Han
    • Yi
    • (as Han Xiting)
    Doudou Zhang
    Doudou Zhang
    • Ling
    • (as Zhang Doudou)
    Dawei Tong
    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
    Takashi Yamanaka
    • Lieutenant Asakura
    Shigeo Kobayashi
    • Lieutenant Kato
    Paul Schneider
    Paul Schneider
    • Terry
    Chun Li
    Chun Li
    • Woman of the Qin Huai River
    • (as Li Chun)
    Mengqiao Zhou
    • Woman of the Qin Huai River
    • (as Zhou Mengqiao)
      • Yimou Zhang
      • Heng Liu(screenplay)
      • Geling Yan(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film is banned in Japan.
    • Quotes

      John Miller: The way you are now, is what I like the best. I see you. I see everything that you've been through. And I want all of that, Mo. I want all of it. I love it. I love it all.

    • Alternate versions
      Unlike most versions of movies released in China but produced by other countries, which often cut scenes (usually for violence), this film was shown with additional scenes in Hong Kong and Taiwan. These chiefly pertained to the Chinese and Japanese troop battle early in the film. This Chinese-released version contains 3 minutes 46 seconds of additional footage.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Love Theme 1
      Performed by Joshua Bell and Yi Zhang

      (Played during Opening Credits)

      Composed by Qi Gang Chen

    User reviews177

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Quietly stirring and immensely poignant drama of unlikely heroism and self-sacrificial love
    Because foreign commentators have not accorded the appropriate significance to the subject of the Japanese occupation of Nanking, there is a certain amount of righteous indignation whenever it is raised amongst the Chinese, whose ancestors had suffered at the hands of the Nippon invaders way back in 1937.

    It is therefore quite impossible to expect objectivity from any Chinese treatment on the subject- even if it is from internationally acclaimed director and the once-infant terrible of Chinese cinema Zhang Yimou- so the best one can hope for is subtlety, with Lu Chuan's earlier box- office hit 'City of Life and Death' being an excellent example. Fortunately therefore, though Zhang Yimou's take begins on an overtly jingoistic slant, it eventually settles for a nuanced approach that exudes the very humanity at the heart of Yan Geling's story, becoming a moving and poignant account of heroism and self-sacrifice.

    Opening with the first of just two battle sequences throughout the whole film, Yimou starts off emphasising the heroism of the Chinese soldiers who were outnumbered and outgunned by the invading Japanese troops. Amidst the blatant chest-thumping is a pair of convent girls trying to get back to the safety of their Catholic church, as well as an American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale) sent to attend to the last rites of the recently deceased parish priest. While the church's boy warden George (Huang Tianyuan) and the dozen schoolgirls under his care think that Miller could be their way out of the city, he turns out to be anything but- well at least in the beginning.

    Content to remain nonchalant to the plight of the girls, Miller instead binges on the communion wine supply in the church's basement and ransacks the church for any money left as payment for his services. Better still, when some 13 ladies from the local brothels seek shelter at the church, he welcomes them as if elated at the prospect of his own personal harem. But transformation is at the heart of Yimou's tale, and even though you know that by the end of the story Miller will rise to the occasion to save the girls, the path to that dramatic character turn is still deeply affecting.

    Kudos to Liu Heng's elegant screen writing, whose collaboration with Yimou goes as far back as the latter's 'Ju Dou', for crafting a moving character arc for Miller- beginning with an act of admirable courage when Miller puts on the priestly robes one day in a bid to stymie the Japanese from forcing themselves on the underage schoolgirls. Ever so delicately, the movie charts his change of heart from a once self- centred opportunist to a Fatherly figure looking after both the convent girls and the courtesans and eventually turning into a saviour for the former.

    Just as skilfully, Yimou also charts the transformation of both groups of ladies. At the crux of it is a truly outstanding act of self- sacrifice on the part of the courtesans, as their egocentricity slowly but surely gives way to empathy and culminates in an extraordinary gesture of courage. We won't spoil this plot point for you- suffice to say that Yimou handles it with beautiful restraint, and what could easily have been maudlin melodrama is instead cast as an uplifting testament of the common bonds of humanity that unite us all despite our social backgrounds.

    Yimou's adroit storytelling is complemented with the stirring performances of a top-notch cast. Christian Bale is perfectly cast, his usual understated but no less powerful acting creating a compelling character in Miller. It also enables him to blend in nicely with the rest of the massive ensemble, despite being the lone Westerner in a cast of Asians. Refusing to monopolise attention on himself or his character, he too strikes up great chemistry with his co-stars Tianyuan and newcomer Ni Ni- the latter of which steals the show with her luminous portrayal of Yu Mo, the pseudo-leader of the courtesans whose radiant beauty masks an equally sharp mind.

    Evocative too is d.p. Zhao Xiaoding's cinematography, which avidly captures both the sobering horrors of war as well as the cautious moments of quiet optimism between the girls. In particular,mXiaoding also uses the convent's stained glass as a nice recurring motif to signal the omnipresence of God despite the atrocities and bleakness. And despite boasting none of the gaudy excesses of Yimou's previous big- budget extravaganzas (a la 'Curse of the Golden Flower'), production designer Yohei Tanada deserves credit for the visually intricate designs of both the cathedral as well as the war-torn streets of Nanking.

    Nonetheless, what will likely resonate most at the end of the day are the film's twin messages of courage in the face of fear and humanity in the face of atrocity. Yimou's confident direction also makes for a multi-faceted movie that offers various perspectives on the war through its myriad characters, while placing Miller, Yu Mo and a thirteen-year old convent girl Shu (Zhang Xinyi) at the heart of it. Don't be deterred by its grim subject matter, or its partiality to the matter- just as its title suggests, there is beauty to be found in the unlikeliest of places, and in spite of the inevitable scenes of heartbreak and despair, it is a quietly stirring and deeply poignant drama of self-sacrificial love, especially meaningful with the impending occasion of Good Friday as a reminder of this highest form of love.

    • www.moviexclusive.com
    helpful•10
    1
    • moviexclusive
    • Mar 28, 2012

    FAQ2

    • What other movies are there regarding the Second Sino-Japanese War?
    • What are the differences between the censored European Version and the Original Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 16, 2011 (China)
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • Mandarin
      • Japanese
      • English
      • Shanghainese
    • Also known as
    • Production companies
      • Beijing New Picture Film
      • Edko Films
      • New Picture Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 26 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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