Emotive and thought-provoking flick about an American mortician arrives in Nanjing in order to bury a priest and attempts to save some women

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2014)

Gripping and intense film depicting terrible deeds during Japonese invasion in Nanjing . It deals with a Westerner called John Mills (Christian Bale , It was Steven Spielberg who recommended him for the lead role) finds refuge with a group of flamboyant whores and girls in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937 . Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women and teens to safety . Big budget WWII epic , it happens when China is invaded by Japan at the onset of war and finds Japanese army surrounding city of Nanjing (1937). After that, at the city takes place violations , mutilations, and massacres . Some prisoners are interred in a prison camp but most of them are led to fire squad , scaffold and others are alive burying.
Director deglamorizes war showing true horror and terrible events . It's a staggering evocation of the Chinese Holocausto in Nanjing , as the atrocities and slaughters are depicted matter of factly as by-product of sheer Japanese evil . The opening graphic depiction the facing off , rampage , ravage is , on its own , magnificent . Spectacular and impressive production but also has its intimate and sensitive moments . As the moving beginning results to be excellent , the developing of the movie regarding invasion China is partially similar to "Nanjing! Nanjing!" by Chuan Lu and ¨Empire of the sun¨ by Spielberg also starred by Christian Bale and suffering of Chinese people bear remarkable resemblance to these films . This was the second fully Chinese-funded film to have a Hollywood star in the lead ; the first one being Inseparable (2011) by Dayyan Eng , played by Kevin Spacey . The starring, Christian Bale , and the rest of the cast are excellent with special mention to gorgeous Ni Ni ; as the movie is powered by splendid performances in charge of Chinese and Japanese actors who during filming suffered some inevitable discussions .
Filmed in perfect as well as glamorous color by cameraman Xiaoding Zhao , reflecting appropriately the grim and rotten environment and colorful interiors from a Chinese church . Yimou Zhang makes a breathtaking work which directs spectacularly with groundbreaking scenes in a heartbreaking context . Screenwriter and filmmaker dedicated long time joining information and interviewing experts for that scenes would adequate to reality of events . This masterpiece was shot in 164 days on an 18 hour daily Schedule and finally garnered the world attention and respect that the story deserves . Grossed more than 310 million on the domestic Chinese box office making this the highest grossing Chinese production of all time . Zhang Yimou is an excellent and veteran director who in his films often explores the dark side of life in small Chinese rural communities . Most of his pictures begin with the title displayed in Chinese calligraphy style . He has achieved several successes such as ¨Curse of the Golden flower¨, ¨House of flying daggers¨ , Hero¨ , ¨The road home¨, ¨The red lantern¨, "Shanghai Triad" winning several prizes in various International Festivals . And this Zhang Yimou's ambitious historical epic The Flowers of War , it has grossed $83 million at the Chinese box office to become the sixth biggest release of all time, including American tentpoles , being already the third highest-grossing Chinese film ever, as well as the top grossing Chinese film of 2011 . Rating : Above average . Essential and indispensable seeing .