The Flowers of War (2011)
In 1937, Japan invades China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army overruns China’s capital city, Nanking, in December and carries out the Nanking massacre. As the Japanese overrun the Chinese army, desperate schoolgirls flee to the sanctuary of their convent at a Western-run Roman Catholic cathedral. John Miller, an American mortician on a job to bury the head priest, joins the group of innocent schoolgirls. He finds George, an orphan boy who was raised by the dead priest and taught English. Soon a group of flamboyant prostitutes arrive at the cathedral, seeking refuge by hiding in the cellar. Pretending to be a priest, Miller tries to keep everyone safe while repairing the convent’s truck to escape. After an incident when rogue Japanese forces assault the cathedral (who are then killed by the dying effort of a lone Chinese Major), Japanese Colonel Hasegawa promises to protect the convent by placing guards outside the gate and requests that the schoolgirls sing a chorale for him.
Several days later, he hands Miller an official invitation for the schoolgirls to sing at the Japanese Army’s victory celebration. Fearing for the safety of the virginal schoolgirls, Miller declines. Hasegawa informs him that it is an order and that the girls are going to be picked up the next day. Before they leave, the Japanese soldiers count the schoolgirls and erroneously include one of the prostitutes (who has strayed from the cellar), totalling 13. When the de facto leader of the schoolgirls, Shu Juan, convinces them that they are better off committing suicide by jumping off the cathedral tower, they are saved at the last moment when the de facto leader of the prostitutes, Yu Mo, convinces her group to protect the schoolgirls by taking their place at the Japanese party. As there are only 12 prostitutes, George, the dead priest’s adoptive son, volunteers as well. Miller initially opposes their self-sacrificial decision but relents and assists in disguising them, using his skills as a mortician to adjust their makeup and cut their hair to appear like schoolgirls.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Christian BaleJohn Miller  Ni NiYu Mo  Xinyi ZhangShu  Tong DaweiMajor Li  Atsuro WatabeColonel Hasegawa  Shigeo KobayashiLt. Kato  Cao KefanMr. Meng |
In 1937, Japan invades China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army overruns China’s capital city, Nanking, in December and carries out the Nanking massacre. As the Japanese overrun the Chinese army, desperate schoolgirls flee to the sanctuary of their convent at a Western-run Roman Catholic cathedral. John Miller, an American mortician on a job to bury the head priest, joins the group of innocent schoolgirls. He finds George, an orphan boy who was raised by the dead priest and taught English. Soon a group of flamboyant prostitutes arrive at the cathedral, seeking refuge by hiding in the cellar. Pretending to be a priest, Miller tries to keep everyone safe while repairing the convent’s truck to escape. After an incident when rogue Japanese forces assault the cathedral (who are then killed by the dying effort of a lone Chinese Major), Japanese Colonel Hasegawa promises to protect the convent by placing guards outside the gate and requests that the schoolgirls sing a chorale for him.
Several days later, he hands Miller an official invitation for the schoolgirls to sing at the Japanese Army’s victory celebration. Fearing for the safety of the virginal schoolgirls, Miller declines. Hasegawa informs him that it is an order and that the girls are going to be picked up the next day. Before they leave, the Japanese soldiers count the schoolgirls and erroneously include one of the prostitutes (who has strayed from the cellar), totalling 13. When the de facto leader of the schoolgirls, Shu Juan, convinces them that they are better off committing suicide by jumping off the cathedral tower, they are saved at the last moment when the de facto leader of the prostitutes, Yu Mo, convinces her group to protect the schoolgirls by taking their place at the Japanese party. As there are only 12 prostitutes, George, the dead priest’s adoptive son, volunteers as well. Miller initially opposes their self-sacrificial decision but relents and assists in disguising them, using his skills as a mortician to adjust their makeup and cut their hair to appear like schoolgirls.
