Film review

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2013)

The Flowers of War is a Chinese film by famous director Yimou Zhang, and it issued on December 15, 2011. Why this film can achieved a very good results, it not only because the director Yimou Zhang plan four-year but also the film has a strong background story. As a fifth-generation director, Yimou Zhang's movie is different from the past this time, he invited the famous Hollywood star and special effects team to complete this film, and he uses his own passion promote the Chinese films to the world.
The Flowers of War tell us a story of some female students and the prostitutes of Qinhuai River in order to avoid the Japanese, they came to the church, where they met an American John. When Japanese find these female students, they asked them celebration for the successful occupation of Nanjing. At last, these prostitutes want to save these students, they decided to go to the war. Although the story is not so complicated, it contains a profound meaning and dedication. So I think this film is not just a war or a history film, it also a drama film. After I watch this film, I have a lot of feelings, because it shocked to me. First of all, there are a lot of contrasts in this film. It not only has contrast between the characters but also contrast between the colors. In the aspects of characters, the contrast is between the prostitutes of Qinhuai River and female students. The female students are very innocent and they afraid of the Japanese, they do not understand anything. But these prostitutes smell and talk to each other with many bad words, it looks very different from the female students at all. At the end of the film, these prostitutes in order to the students to sacrifice himself. This plot make me has impressed. Because at that moment, these looked timid but in fact useful patriotism let the audience feel they are brave. For example, there is a woman who named Yumo in the film, she live in the brothel because of her bad family, but she still does not give up, and used her true and courage to impress for audience. There is also has Americans in the movie who named John. At the beginning of the movie, the director he shaped into a greedy and lustful character to him, but when he saw a female student killed by the Japanese, he think he wants to save these students. I think this is the real feel in his heart. The transformation of these characters make the film becomes more interested and attractive. In the aspect of the color, it also has a lot of contrast in this film. Like a war scene in the beginning of the film, the director uses the colors of black and white to highlight the relentless and darkness of the war. But when Yumo and others women show up, they are dressed in brightly colored costumes, and with the colorful windows of the church, it like entering another world, and let the audience have a different feel. Yimou Zhang uses these particular aesthetics let audience have different visual effects.
In this movie, we can see a lot of Chinese elements. We can find that dub of this film is not Mandarin. It is the Nanjing which is a dialect of Chinese. I think this is can reflect the characteristics of China better. Also, the women in the movie wearing the cheongsam, playing the zither, and singing the songs of the Chinese style, these are all the typical oriental elements and a kind of self-Oriental. The director wanted to use his lens to let the world know China and Chinese film, and maybe this is also the goal of the fifth generation directors.
In my opinion, this film is has very deep meaning, it use a Chinese real war as a background, and a distinctive character to describes the content of the movie. So I have complex senses which are complex and depressing. I feel sad for the dead soldiers and feel helpless of damage by the war, I also feel more proud of Yumo. I think the film is to tell the audience a story, if this story makes you have space to think that meaning a successful film. In this film, the strong Chinese characteristics and cruel historical truth let the whole world to understand China. The director uses the meticulous shooting style and some strong characters to let everyone know the progress of Chinese movies. So, I think this is a good film.