Jin ling shi san chai
Directed by:
Yimou ZhangScreenplay:
Heng LiuCinematography:
Xiaoding ZhaoComposer:
Qi-Gang ChenCast:
Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Paul Schneider, Dawei Tong, Shawn Dou, Frida Li, Jingchun Wang, Xinyi Zhang, Chaobei Wang, Junichi Kajioka, Yuan Nie, Dao Qi, Xiaomei Su (more)Plots(1)
China, 1937, on the brink of collapse. Nanking is under siege from the Japanese Imperial Army, the streets awash with violence, the civilians desperate. The protective walls of a western church provide the only haven from the vicious battles outside. American John Miller (Christian Bale) caught in the midst of the chaos, joins a small group trying escape the violence wrought by the Japanese army. Through one act of heroism, this group of disparate refugees fight back, risking their lives for the sake of others and the nation. Inspired by true events, The Flowers of War tells the incredible story of an unlikely group standing up against an unimaginable and overwhelming evil. (Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
This is like the Chinese version of Fall of the Innocent, but a lot more expensive and better made. I’m kidding a little, if I started to list the similarities between the two films they would be more random than symptomatic, but the fact is that they both had the same effect on me. A visually nice bait for fake emotions, with an outstanding Bale, that’s it.
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Another visual gem by Zhang Yimoua that gives some color to the turmoil of war and even to a bombed out city full of dust. The up-beat or even romping beginning led by the drunken funeral director, Bale, is interspersed with raw battle scenes, and it’s not until the second half that it turns into a tearjerker presented with the greatest possible brilliance. The depicted contrast between religious students and prostitutes couldn’t be greater. But Ni Ni is a wonderful combination of both.
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