The Flowers of War [Blu-ray] [2011]

Zhang Yimou is a master director. His skills in handling light and color are breathtaking. Such attention to detail no doubt stems from his past experiences as a cinematographer. He is equally adept in coaxing solid performances from his actors proving once again, it takes one to know one. An incredible 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack rocks!
The film follows the true story portrayed in the novel, “Flowers of Nanjing” by Geling Yan. The story takes place in 1937 during what’s known as the Nanjing Massacre or the forgotten holocaust. It has been estimated that hundreds of thousands Chinese soldiers and civilians died during the six week occupation of the Imperial Japanese Army and 20,000 to 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. The 2011 film had an estimated budget of $94 million dollars, making it the most expensive Chinese film at that time. Although making back its investment in China, the movie bombed in the US, bringing in only $311,000 at the box office. I don’t understand why this film failed to take hold with the American audience and critics. Perhaps it was the gritty violence, or that 40% of the dialogue was in Chinese and Japanese with English subtitles. At the time of release, many charged the film to be Chinese propaganda and anti-Japanese, while others accused the makers of “White Knight Syndrome” by casting British actor, Christian Bale in the lead. Many criticized the melodramatic tone of the story as inappropriate compared to the horrors that took place. I can’t speak for the historical side of things, but I feel the film goes out of its way not to make Christian Bale‘s character the sole hero. This film shows the power and strength of the human spirit of the Chinese people of Nanjing in the midst of human depravity.

Amazing film that's well worth your time, but be aware that it doesn't shy away from the horrors of what happened in Nanjing. The cast is excellent, and the white savior angle has actual validity due to the context. I also recommend the documentary Nanking (2007) for anyone wanting to know more about the real-world events.

Beautiful, sad story of Japanese occupying China. The Chinese working girls take the place of the young Convent girls who the Japanese want for their own pleasure.

My wife and I were not able to see this movie in our local movie theater and am happy we were able to purchase it at a good price from BestBuy and am looking forward to watching it as often as we want.

A very intense story of an American, young Chinese female students and Chinese women of the night surviving the onslaught of Japanese Army invading Peking... The acting is superb and story line intensifies as the movie progresses!

I love this movie. It's inspired by true historical events. Powerful story and powerful acting.

This made me cry so much injustice but loved the movie 5 stars

Christian Bale is the greatest actor and I purchased this movie to help complete his film collection.