The Flowers of War.docVIP

The Flowers of War 　　Behind the chromatic explosions and gruesome combat that pervade the historical drama “The Flowers of War ” (《金陵十三钗》 J~nl!ng Sh!s`n Ch`i, or “Nanjing’s 13 Women”), lies a touching story of sacrifice and heroism told by an unlikely narrator: a teenage schoolgirl caught in a raging battle between the Chinese and Japanese. 　　Her blue uniform vividly contrasts with the dense fog that enshrouds a fallen Nanjing, as invading Japanese troops engage in the final battles that will lead to their full occupation of the city on December 13, 1937. She and her schoolmates flee for their lives that day, seeking safety behind the towering stone walls of Winchester Cathedral, their former school and home. 　　Also caught in the fog is the American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale), who is bound for the convent to prepare the body of its recently deceased priest. Preoccupied with his quest for booze and a quick buck, he ignores pleas to use his foreign influence to escort the girls out of the warzone. To Miller’s delight, a group of prostitutes from the famous brothels of Qinhuai River, led by the charming and exuberant Yu Mo (Ni Ni), break into the church and hide out in the cellar. 　　This marks the beginning of events narrated by Shujuan (书娟), a schoolgirl whose fictional recollections are based on “13 Flowers of Nanjing,”a novel by Chinese-American author Yan Geling (严歌苓). Her voice reaches through the hazy fog as she illustrates her tragic experience: 　　“I remember that day everyone was 　　running, but no one could escape that heavy fog.” 　　我记得那天所有的人都在跑，好像永远也跑不出那场大雾。 　　W6 j#de n3ti`n su6y6u de r9n d4u z3i p2o, h2oxi3ng y6ngyu2n y0 p2obuch$ n3 ch2ng d3w. 　　Director Zhang Yimou bases the most expensive Chinese movie ever made (with a budget of RMB600 million) on characters rarely cast as protagonists in recent national cinematography: a class of harmless schoolgirls, a foreigner, a little boy and a group of headstrong prostitutes. Zhang, China’s