‘The Flowers of War’ Movie Preview: Trailer, Cast, and Plot Details

Christian Bale leads the cast of the R-rated drama The Flowers of War. Directed by Zhang Yimou, The Flowers of War opens in limited release on December 23, 2011 followed by a wider release in the winter of 2011/2012.

Christian Bale stars as John Miller, Ni Ni is Yu Mo, Zhang Xinyi is Shu, Huang Tianyuan is George, and Tong Dawei is Major Li. The cast also includes Atsuro Watabe as Colonel Hasegawa, Shigeo Kobayashi as Lieutenant Kato, and Cao Kefa as Mr Meng.

Christian Bale and Ni Ni in 'The Flowers of War'
Christian Bale and Ni Ni in 'The Flowers of War' - Photo © Wrekin Hill Entertainment

The Plot: The film, set during the Japanese invasion of China, is told from a young girl’s point of view, not as a history lesson, but as an intimate, elemental and paradoxically universal celebration of the human spirit. Bale stars as a dissolute Westerner who seeks refuge in a Catholic Church. There, he meets a beautiful Chinese courtesan who helps him rescue a group of schoolgirls from a terrible fate at the hands of the Japanese.