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The Flowers of War
User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 7 out of 24
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  1. LILINICE
    Dec 25, 2011
    10
    I have never been deeply moved by a Chinese movie,but the film ,The Flowes of War does it,.It made me a unforgettable impression.The polt and the frame of movie are very excellent .Most important, I was deeply stirred by the sad story of 13 FLOWERS .ALSO by the CHINA in the past .As a Chinese,I feel angry and wanna cry .But I can't forget the history of this period .This is a good film ,and it gives me a significant lesson.By the way,I hope you can love it like me.… Expand
  2. MorriBey
    Jan 11, 2012
    0
    I gave up after 10 minutes. Imagine Nanking(2007) with the flippant humour of an Indian Jones movie and you have , in essence, this sorry sorry excuse for a movie. Its awful. I am embarrassed for the director . And i can only imagine how Mr Bale feels. Its actually a bit disturbing how the death of children can be inter-mixed with humour. I feel somewhat disgusted by the movie and i can only hope that it quickly disappears and will not be for general release.… Expand
  3. stephen-ny
    Jan 12, 2012
    8
    Great movie, which tell you a crucial war story from a special point. However, I still can not fee strong logic for those 13 "flowers" to sacrifice their life for others.
  4. helohe
    Jan 9, 2012
    0
    wtf, all those "10" reviews are written by the exact same person, just look at the bad english. They aren't even reviews, I would consider them spam. That is why I give 0 points to the film, let say for bad marketing practices. Oh and by the way the review that says "contains spoilers" doesn't even mention anything from the film at all.
  5. horatio2012
    Jan 11, 2012
    10
    I think this film reflects a compelling story of China. The director made ​​his greatest Chinese film interceded budget.Christian is excellent in his role. The film is very emotional and realistic. Graphic splendor, the testimony will suffice to complete the film, even sublime principles of staging that govern it. Between spectacle and emotion, he says his own style and personality to expose a little long, dread, absurdity, the savagery of bloody clashes around the possession of a few acres of land charged symbol. Mr. Yimou gives us just a new masterpiece !!!!… Expand
  6. jzlthssw
    Jan 9, 2012
    1
    Sounds like we got over here a bunch of hardcore fans of Zhang Yimou from his home country, or Chna boosters in general. It's really not that good a movie. Evidently director Zhang tried extremely hard to appease the western critics in order to win an Oscar but the end result is both shallow and obvious.
  7. wang
    Jan 14, 2012
    9
    有一些瑕疵，比如说战争太煽情，但是不可否认是2011年最好的中国电影之一，我想如果换成是犹太人受害，大概就不会有这么多的批评了吧。… Expand
  8. GGH
    Jan 28, 2012
    10
    The Flowers of War: The story happened in a church where is closest to God, the cruelty of war and the goodness of humanity exhibited... kinetic battle scenes, beautiful photography and impressive performances, sad result but inspiring and unforgettable! I have to say this is an amazing movie!
  9. kahn
    Feb 9, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is a good chinese film.Best director,best Actor,best Screenwriter.I moved by the film deeply!The film expresses brave，Selfless and love of the people in the war！I hope there is no war in the world.Everyone live in a peaceful and full of love planet.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
46 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Richard Nilsen
    Mar 29, 2012
    40
    The film is cinematically brilliant but morally obtuse.
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  2. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    Feb 23, 2012
    50
    While Bale speaks in an anachronistically modern American vernacular, the Chinese cast recite grammatically perfect, phonetic English so stilted you find yourself wishing the film would stick to subtitles. This is not so much a question of a story being lost in translation as a movie that never finds the right story to tell.
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  3. New Orleans Times-Picayune
    Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    Feb 10, 2012
    63
    That's not to say it's a bad film, necessarily. It's just not as good as it could have -- and should have -- been.
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