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Because my home computer is in danger of serious overheating these days, I have only had it on for short periods of time. So I have been publishing a backlog of draft documents that were already saved in various degrees of completeness. Glancing back at many of these that I have posted thus far, I see a lot of typos and poorly written passages. I hope to go back and correct them someday, but I will have to wait for cooler conditions. Please bear with me.
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-Zenwind.
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20 May 2012
18 May 2012
Movie Review: The Flowers of War
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The Flowers of War (2011) is a Chinese-made film starring Christian Bale and a great cast of Chinese actresses. It is in English and Chinese with subtitles. It is a great story, showing unexpected humanity.
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It is a story based upon a historical novel as well as on historical accounts, and it happens during the 1937 Japanese conquest of Nanking, China. The brutality of many of the occupying Japanese troops has forever earned the infamous label of “The Rape of Nanking.”
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I was actually surprised by the restraint shown by the filmmakers. I have read of, and have seen documentary film footage of, the hideously savage treatment of Chinese citizens under the Japanese occupation, and it is horror beyond words. While the film did not shy completely from depicting this aspect, it instead focused on the deep and humane personal changes our protagonists go through while experiencing this crucible of barbarity. I found it to be incredibly inspiring.
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Our characters meet in a Nanking Catholic church as the Japanese tighten their grip on the city. Bale’s character is a burned-out American mortician with mercenary motives. There are a dozen young teenage Chinese girls living in the church’s convent, and their priest protector is dead. Then a dozen flashy prostitutes from a nearby brothel also seek refuge at the church. Bale has more than he bargained for.
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The decisions and actions of the girls and the prostitutes drive most of the moral action. Bale is a reluctant hero carried along, yet there are heroines and heroes aplenty. I highly recommend this movie.
.
-Zenwind.
.
The Flowers of War (2011) is a Chinese-made film starring Christian Bale and a great cast of Chinese actresses. It is in English and Chinese with subtitles. It is a great story, showing unexpected humanity.
.
It is a story based upon a historical novel as well as on historical accounts, and it happens during the 1937 Japanese conquest of Nanking, China. The brutality of many of the occupying Japanese troops has forever earned the infamous label of “The Rape of Nanking.”
.
I was actually surprised by the restraint shown by the filmmakers. I have read of, and have seen documentary film footage of, the hideously savage treatment of Chinese citizens under the Japanese occupation, and it is horror beyond words. While the film did not shy completely from depicting this aspect, it instead focused on the deep and humane personal changes our protagonists go through while experiencing this crucible of barbarity. I found it to be incredibly inspiring.
.
Our characters meet in a Nanking Catholic church as the Japanese tighten their grip on the city. Bale’s character is a burned-out American mortician with mercenary motives. There are a dozen young teenage Chinese girls living in the church’s convent, and their priest protector is dead. Then a dozen flashy prostitutes from a nearby brothel also seek refuge at the church. Bale has more than he bargained for.
.
The decisions and actions of the girls and the prostitutes drive most of the moral action. Bale is a reluctant hero carried along, yet there are heroines and heroes aplenty. I highly recommend this movie.
.
-Zenwind.
.
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