A very emotional and disturbing look at the rape of Nanking. "Life Is Beautiful" mixed with "Defiance". Very good. I say A

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2012)

"The children can't end up in the arms of the Japanese, otherwise my men would have died for nothing." When mortician John Miller (Bale) travels to Nanking, China in order to take care of a dead priest he is witness to the beginning of the Japanese siege. Upon arriving to the church he is upset that the children have no money to give him. He decides to stay at the church and look for what he can take. After a group of prostitutes show up he only wants one thing. After drinking all night he wakes up in a priest's clothes and witnesses an unspeakable horror that forever changes his way of thinking. This is an extremely emotional movie that deserves to be seen be a bigger audience then it will get. Christian Bale gives another Oscar worthy performance in a man who goes from selfish to selfless after witnessing how Japanese soldiers treat the young children that are staying at a church. Many parts of this movie are difficult to watch but this is also a movie that deserves to be seen. The movie will draw out many emotions in you ranging from anger to horror, but at it's core it is a very heartfelt journey of one man trying to save many. "Life Is Beautiful" meets "Defiance" with a little "Schindlers List" thrown in. I recommend this, if you can handle it. Overall, a little slow moving but a movie that deserves to be seen. I give it an A.