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The Flowers of War
The film tells the story of an American (Christian Bale) who tries to protect a group of Chinese students and prostitutes from Japanese soldiers in 1937 Nanjing. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
July1963, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
3 February 1979, Fushun, Liaoning Province, China
16 March 1976, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
5 May 1968, Tokyo, Japan
15 February 1988, Wuhu, Anhui, China
21 April 1970, Tokyo, Japan
30 January 1974, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
August 05, 2012
It contributes nothing of value to an understanding of these events.August 02, 2012
Maudlin make-believe in which a molecule of fact has been dropped like vermouth into a martini ...August 02, 2012
Bale is forthright and emotional in the role, and with a hint of boyish vulnerability, even reminds us of his 13-year-old self in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun.May 03, 2015
A florid, melodramatic tear-jerker of questionable taste but undeniable emotional impact.August 03, 2012
It can look tremendous, even if Zhao Xiaoding's hyper-stylised '90-retro cinematography sits uneasily beside relentless bloodshed and sexual violations.February 23, 2012
The director's grip on the drama is often weakened by his penchant for creating spectacles.September 12, 2012
The filming techniques cross Saving Private Ryan with Zimou's own Hero and other dynastic, martial arts-driven Chinese epics.July 31, 2012
Zhang's flamboyant camera choreography and diva-ish flounces of melodrama are vivid but misplaced.January 19, 2012
All Zhang's splendor does is foster cognitive dissonance in an audience.January 19, 2012
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.February 24, 2012
An unsettling mixture of spectacular brutality and sentimentality that might make even Steven Spielberg blush.March 29, 2012
"The Flowers of War" seems like a pretty good film until you begin to think about it.