Flowers Of War, The

The Flowers Of War takes place in 1937, when Nanjing City stands at the forefront of a war between China and Japan. As the invading Japanese Imperial Army overruns China's capital city, desperate civilians seek refuge behind the nominally protective walls of a western cathedral. Here John Miller (Bale), an American trapped amidst the chaos of battle and the ensuing occupation, takes shelter, joined by a group of innocent schoolgirls and 13 courtesans, equally determined to escape the horrors taking place outside the church walls. Struggling to survive the violence and persecution wrought by the Japanese army, it is an act of heroism, which eventually leads the seemingly disparate group to fight back, risking their lives for the sake of everyone. Based on the novel by Yan Geling. (Gary Reber)