Review of The Flowers of War (2011) by Ola G — 21 May 2013

This is a film by Zhang Yimou. That is why I decided to watch it. It is a pretty good movie; but not a particularly compelling nor affecting film. The story is about the Japanese invasion of Nanking during WWII. I have read that over 300,000 to 400,000 Chinese civilians were slaughtered by the Japanese soldiers. Their army also practiced institutionalized rape. This has been documented by many sources; including some non-Chinese investigators. There is a pretty well-done documentary done on this event.

The story is a moderately good one. The lead is a westerner, John Miller (Christian Bale). He is a mortician who eventually agrees to help save some Chinese girls from the invaders. Bale is a very talented actor. He is very good. The Chinese lead is a prostitute, Yu Mo (Ni Ni). Ms Ni is an appropriately beautiful woman. The story unfolds in a pretty predictable fashion. There is some romance played out as a sub-story. The Japanese soldiers are played as especially cruel and debased. In that respect, it reminded a little bit of SCHINDLERS LIST. But, this movie isn't nearly as well done.

This movie is worth a look. The acting is uniformly well done. The story is a bit of a stretch. But, it does give a glimpse of the Nanking atrocities. It is a modestly entertaining film.