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The Flowers of War

Jin Ling Shi San Chai (The Flowers of War)

2011

Zhang Yimou

Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Shigeo Kobayashi ...

7.1

10,875

War. Drama 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 ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Gary Thompson Philadelphia Inquirer	"A strange hybrid of 'City of Life and Death' and 'Father Goose' that nevertheless, in the hands of Zhang Yimou, musters a few striking moments."	NEU
United Kingdom	Angie Errigo Empire	" Zhang’s mastery shows in shot after memorable shot (...) As you'd expect, it's beautiful, emotional and exciting, if florid in style (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times	"'The Flowers of War' is in many ways a good film (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Walter Addiego SFGATE	"Affecting at times, but finally feels overblown and heavy-handed."	NEU
United States	Rex Reed The New York Observer	"It's a special film of sacrifice, redemption and hope in the shadow of a holocaust that packs an emotional wallop from which there is no escape"	POS
United States	Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News	"[Yimou] turns the Rape of Nanking into a visually stunning melodrama. But the effect of such extreme contrast is unsettling to say the least."	NEU
United States	V.A. Musetto New York Post	"Battle scenes are spectacular - great explosions! - but most of the screen time is taken up by a contrived and schmaltzy script with little emotional punch."	NEU
United States	Justin Chang Variety	Scene by scene, The Flowers of War is an erratic and ungainly piece of storytelling, full of melodramatic twists and grotesque visual excesses, which are nonetheless delivered with startling conviction."	NEU

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