Review of The Flowers of War (2011) by Cesar M — 25 Aug 2012

First of all for all those who didn't "get" this movie, it's not rocket science to go to Google or Wikipedia and simply search "Nanking (or Nanjing) Massacre" or "what happened in china right before world war 2" and chose the third option from the top that speaks of the second Sino-Japanese War....

That being said, I am really a detractor for movies that try hard to be art for the sake of being artistic... It's the reason why I would have given negative points to "We Need to Talk About Kevin" in my recent review... This movie doesn't try so hard, and because of it it captures this magic that is rarely seen in film.

Christian Bale does a phenomenal job acting, and after seeing the "Making Of" segment on the Bluray disc (absolutely essential to help you further appreciate this movie), I have yet to see a director that puts as much authenticity, research, hard work, and realism without being overly gory as Yimou Zhang. Not to mention that fact that about 90% of the cast are unknowns and the director NEVER gives them crap about their bad performances, but instead pushes them by positive compliments saying they could definitely do better.

Behind the Scenes things aside, my wife is from Japan and for her to see this movie was like being punched in the gut repeatedly or stabbed slowly because it reminded her that her country DOES have a dark past, which some would like to keep a secret... America is not the poster child of morality, and our issues with slavery, segregation, women's rights, etc. were steeped in blood. That is a fact and it is reality.

The reason I give this movie a PERFECT score is because it captures the real grim feeling of war but shows the God given ability that humans have to put aside their differences and band together in times of real trouble. If Catholic School girls and Prostitutes can live in the same roof and have each other's back, that is a hope for this Earth that I didn't think was possible in humanity.

This is an excellent movie and most Blockbusters have it in stock. It's a shame that Critics obviously didn't "get" it, but that should be no reason to miss out an experience found in Flowers of War!