could have been great

Rating: 6/10 (8 September 2013)

It's 1937 China. Mortician John (Christian Bale) arrives at a Catholic church in Nanjing to prepare a priest for burial. It's the middle of the Japanese invasion and the Nanjing massacre ensues. He finds himself alone with a group of girl students. When a group of prostitutes from a nearby brothel arrive, he becomes the unwilling protector of both groups.
This is fully a Chinese film staring Christian Bale. Given the subject matter, I'd hope that they make the action more realistic. It certainly had the potential and the scale of a great movie. However the unrealistic action and the contrived awkward story of sacrifice just can't be overcome. It could have been great despite its white-savior core.