A story about the enduring nature of the human spirit!

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2012)

Director Yimou Zhang scores a perfect 10! For someone who is known for the action- choreography in his movies (such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers"), Zhang keeps the viewer riveted to the seat through the first 30 minutes or so when Japanese forces run through Chinese the city of Nanking, unleashing mayhem and violence.
The framing and editing work in tandem to create stunning visuals that convey both the widespread destruction due to the heavy artillery, as well as the intense pain and angst of those hit. I could not help but get reminded of movies like Full Metal Jacket (1987), Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line (1998).
The scene where young Chinese soldiers run in an "in-line" formation towards an advancing Japanese tank, with the hope that the last man in the formation, who is a human-bomb, will get close enough to the tank and immobilize it, is outstanding. This perhaps captures the essence of the story - which is displayed through out the movie by many of its characters - the enduring nature of the human spirit. The lone surviving Chinese soldier forsaking the safety offered by a convent of nuns and going back to take on the well-armed invaders; the decision of the prostitutes to stand-in for the young and adolescent nuns who are called into the Japanese garrison for a "performance" at a celebration party and the young errand-boy at the nunnery making the choice to step in as a substitute to make up for the count for the choir are some great moments.
Zhang gets Christian Bale to show his slow but complete transformation from being a drunken mortician with hedonistic leanings to a determined man who sees the protection of the innocent victims (nuns, prostitutes and the young boy) as his calling.
The violence and gore notwithstanding, this movie is one emotional roller-coaster that is sure to make you take a pause and think about the casualties of war and the power of keeping up hope when in despair.