"Yu Mo: You know what? I was the best in my English class, but everyone used to mock me. They said I put on airs and graces and acted like I was the Queen of England."

"Christian Bale as John Miller"

"Ni Ni as Yu Mo"

"Zhang Xinyi as Shu"

"Tong Dawei as Major Li"

"Atsuri Watabe as Colonel Hasegawa"

"Shigeo Kobayashi as Lieutenant Kato"

"Cao Kefan as Mr. Meng"

"Huang Tianyuan as George Chen"

"Han Xiting as Yi"

"Zhang Doudou as Ling"

"Yuan Yangchunzi as Mosquito"

"Sun Jia as Hua"

"Li Yuemin as Dou"

"Bai Xue as Lan"

"Takashi Yamanaka as Lieutenant Asakura"

"Paul Schneider as Terry"

""The Flowers of War," a melodramatic tale of unlikely heroism set during the Japanese invasion of Nanking, is affecting at times, but finally feels overblown and heavy-handed. It's a disappointment from director Zhang Yimou ("Ju Dou," "Raise the Red Lantern")."

"A dozen convent girls are hiding in the church, watched over by a young male ward (Huang Tianyuan). A reprobate American mortician (Christian Bale) arrives, and sticks around to drink up the church's wine supply and pocket whatever cash he can put his hands on. Also seeking refuge are a dozen or so rambunctious and colorfully clad hookers, including one (Ni Ni) who speaks fairly good English. The Bale character and the prostitutes are mostly played for robust humor - a somewhat risky strategy - until the sanctuary is invaded by Japanese troops intending to violate the young virgins (the hookers avoid notice, a little too easily, by hiding in the basement). Bale's mortician has dressed up as a priest, mainly as a lark, but shows unexpected mettle in trying to protect the girls."

"There are moments of genuine emotion here, and Zhang powerfully underlines the horrors of this dreadful moment in history, but much of what happens feels cooked up, some of it plain silly. The characters' rising to the moral occasion should be deeply moving, but isn't really justified dramatically. It seems more like the triumph of sentimental movie conventions. The transformation of Bale's character is entirely predictable, and the monumental act of self-sacrifice at the climax strains credibility. And there are some dialogue clunkers. The film's grand emotions and a handful of remarkable sequences - Zhang is an undeniable talent - can't overcome these flaws."