The Flowers of War (15) 145 mins **
One of
WW2’s worst atrocities, the Rape of Nanking has caught the movies’ attention
only recently, prompting three films in rapid succession. Following the so-so John Rabe and the exceptional City of Life and Death, Zhang Yimou (Hero) here offers a largely fictive
drama, drawn from Yan Geling’s novel, which rather bizarrely approaches these
events in Gok Wan fashion: as an opportunity for makeovers all round. Christian
Bale’s opportunistic American mortician becomes unlikely protector to the
streetwalkers and kiddiwinks seeking refuge in a convent – once he’s nobly
ditched his hipflask and a manky Colonel Sanders beard.
Any
exploration of the strange allegiances forged in wartime gets muffled by an
often stilted script, translated into English for easier international
consumption. Zhang is more concerned with finding ways to redress low
historical blows as glowing, audience-friendly spectacle. Snipers expire in
eruptions of coloured rags, blood splatters tattered furnishings, and curtains
are transformed into dresses as a faintly silly plot to disguise the hookers as
schoolgirls takes shape. Like a Sony Bravia ad with a bodycount, it sure looks
pretty – but surely it’s a pretty questionable aim to try and make the Rape of
Nanking look good?
The Flowers of War opens in selected cinemas today, ahead of its DVD release on Monday.
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