The Flowers of War
The Flowers of War Image
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Metascore
46 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang
  • Summary: An unprincipled American is caught in the turmoil of China during the 1937 invasion by Japan. Seeking refuge in a Catholic Church, he meets up with a courtesan desperate to protect a group of schoolgirls from the vicious onslaught. Putting aside his usual selfish tendencies, the American risks everything to help them.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Pete Hammond
    Dec 29, 2011
    80
    Ultimately an inspiring, stirring and unforgettable human drama in the face of a horrifying war. It is highly recommended.
  2. Total Film
    Reviewed by: Paul Bradshaw
    Jul 28, 2012
    60
    Less about the thousands who died in the Nanking massacre than about how stunning it all looked, Zhang Yimou's epic puts Bale in the midst of a lavish nightmare.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    Jan 18, 2012
    58
    Many of Flowers' individual performances and scenes are striking and masterful, but taken as a whole, it's less a film than a rallying cry of "Our people feel more deeply than yours."
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    Jan 24, 2012
    30
    It's something you'd think only the crassest of Hollywood producers would come up with - injecting sex appeal into an event as ghastly at the Nanjing massacre - but it's an element central to The Flowers of War, a contrived and unpersuasive look at an oft-dramatized historical moment.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. MissEighties
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Donner 10 à un film est toujours mal vu. Mais moi je me dis, si j'ai adorée le film, s'il m'a touché, si je n'y ai pas trouvé de longueur et que j'en aurais demandé plus...voilà quelques raison pourquoi je donne 10. Dans ce film dont les images ne sont pas facile à regarder, où les balles traversent les corps et les têtes...certaines scènes démontrent un grand côté artistique, voire la beauté à travers le drame, la scène qui me vient en tête est celle que les filles de joies s'enroulent dans les draps blancs, elles tournent sur elles-mêmes, en même temps, tel une performance de ballet. Lorsque les filles laissent tomber à tour de rôle un miroir qui éclate en fracats par terre au ralenti. Tout au long du film il y a des intrigues et des revirements de situation. Les actrices asiatiques m'ont particulièrement touchées. Vraiment, ce film est magnique.… Expand
  2. stephen-ny
    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.… Expand
  3. frozenpinky
    7
    Don't go into this hoping it's an action flick. This is not a "Hero" or "House of Flying Daggers" martial arts/Wuxia flick. And just because it's a "war movie" doesn't mean it has to be non-stop action. Saving Private Ryan is mostly drama with an under current of action, and so is this. If you want action, watch a Michael Bay movie or a Jason Stathom flick. This is a Zhang Yimou movie (Curse of the Golden Flower, The Road Home...etc) so it's going to mostly be about drama, as it should. It's a film about the relationship between an American mortician (Christian Bale), teenage Chinese school girls, and Chinese prostitutes learning to respect one another during the Japanese invasion of China, and it's done so in a beautiful sort of melodramatic way. Hiding in a church, we take a journey with the characters as they get to know one another under stressful, war-time tension. I was surprised when learning that Christian Bale would be play the American mortician, but he seemed to be more believable than I expected. It's worth a viewing, especially if you're a fan of Zhang Yimou's work.… Expand
  4. MorriBey
    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

See all 16 User Reviews

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