International Film Series: The Flowers of War

Our International Film Series resumes on Tuesday, September, 11, at 6:30 p.m. with "The Flowers of War." The 2011 Golden-Globe nominated film depicts Japan's "Rape of Nanking" in 1937. This is a Chinese production, directed by the notable Zhang Yimou and featuring Academy Award winner Christian Bale. Bale plays an American who reluctantly disguises himself as a priest in order to protect two groups of women from the marauding Japanese: girls from a local convent school and prostitutes from a brothel. The film was one of the most expensive and the highest grossing Chinese movie of all time. Languages include English and Mandarin. The film's content is graphic and intended for mature audiences only. Despite the horrors of war depicted in the film, however, the viewer is ultimately moved by a historically based story of the resilience of the human spirit and the triumph of understanding over prejudice and hatred.