Told from the perspective of a convent girl, Shu Juan (Zhang Xinyi), and set during the Rape of Nanking in World War II, the film follows itinerate mortician John Miller (Christian Bale), who finds himself taking refuge in a church during the invasion of Nanking, and becomes the reluctant protector of its inhabitants.
The film`s emotional crux centres around the vastly varied emotional interiors of the church`s refugees, ranging from the convent girls to the cynical protagonist to Yu Mo (Ni Ni), the most elegant of the 13 courtesans who find themselves taking sanctuary within the church. Unfortunately, the film is bogged down by the sheer weight of its characters and an extraneous plot-line about a heroic sniper (Tong Dawei), whose sole purpose in the film seems to be eliciting feelings of sensationalistic nationalism.
The acting, while solid, is undermined by director Yimou`s decision to create a bilingual mishmash, with Bale`s main character dissonantly riffing off in anachronistic vernacular, and the Chinese members of the cast bogged down by their occasional need to emote in awkward, barely coherent English.
While there is an emotional centre to The Flowers of War, it is greatly weakened by an excess of sheer spectacle. While undoubtedly a form of visual catharsis for more nationalistic-minded audiences from the mainland, this indulgence merely bogs down the brief moments of emotional authenticity in the film, such as the dramatic and resolution between Yu Mo and Shu Juan.
Despite its epic scope and admirable attempt to retell an important narrative in Chinese history, The Flowers of War is an endeavour that is effectively sentimental, but ultimately bogged down by its emphasis on spectacle over substance.
Summary: A patchy bouquet, gilded with sentimentality.
Rating: 2.5/5 RL