"ComingSoon.net: There have been other recent movies about the invasion of Nanking so what was it about the novel or the story that made you interested in telling your own?"

"Girl: [voiceover] After twenty days of continuous bombing, Nanking finally fell to the Japanese. It was December the 13th, 1937. I remember everyone was running that day, but no one could escape that heavy fog."

"Shu: [voiceover] They were the famous women of the Qin Huai River. The myths surrounding them were as ancient as the city of Nanking.."

"Shu: [voiceover] Until this day I still don't know what happened to the women of the Qin Huai River. I never learned all of their names, and never saw them being taken away by the Japanese. So, I always imagine... I imagine myself standing by the large round window, watching them walk in once again."

"John Miller: Stop! Girls! Girls! Stop! Stop! Stop! This is a house of the Lord! These are children! You are breaking the laws of man and of God! No soldiers here! You have no business being here! I am the priest! And I command you, in the name of the Father to leave now! Girls, you come up here now! Girls, you come up here now! Come up these stairs, and stand behind me. You're honorable men, behave honorably!"

"Yu Mo: Even though you were a drunk bastard last night, what you did today makes you a hero."

"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."

"The Flowers of War is ultimately an inspiring, stirring and unforgettable human drama in the face of a horrifying war. It is highly recommended."

"One of the ancient ploys of the film industry is to make a film about non-white people and find a way, however convoluted, to tell it from the point of view of a white character. "The Help" (2011) is a recent example: The film is essentially about how poor, hard-working black maids in Mississippi empowered a young white woman to write a best-seller about them. "Glory" (1989) is about a Civil War regiment of black soldiers; the story is seen through the eyes of their white commander. One of the last places you'd expect to see this practice is in a Chinese film. But what else can we make of Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War"? It takes place during the Rape of Nanking (1937-38), one of the most horrifying atrocities in history, during which the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Chinese capital city and slaughtered an estimated 300,000 civilians, usually raping the women first. It is one thing for civilians to die in the course of a war, and another for them to be hunted down and wiped out on a personal basis for the crime of their race. Now we have the first fiction film about this event by one of the leading Chinese directors, who contrives to tell it through the experiences of a drunken American mortician named John Miller (Christian Bale). This man finds himself in Nanking at the time, misses a chance to escape the city and ends up hiding out in a huge Catholic cathedral, which is theoretically neutral ground."

""The Flowers of War" is in many ways a good film, as we expect from Zhang Yimou ("Ju Dou," "Raise the Red Lantern," "To Live"). It is handsomely photographed. Its exteriors were apparently shot on sets, including an impressive one for the cathedral and its surrounding grounds. Christian Bale grows tiresome as a drunk, but then straightens up and is an adequate hero, although lacking in depth and background. Yu Mo, the leader of the prostitutes, is played in a effective heart-of-gold way by Ni Ni. Huang Tianyuan is good as George, but there is never a danger of him stealing a scene. Now let me ask you: Can you think of any reason the character John Miller is needed to tell his story? Was any consideration given to the possibility of a Chinese priest? Would that be asking for too much?"