Long before the Dark Knight trilogy, a 13-year old Christian Bale debuted in <em>Empire of the Sun</em>, Steven Spielberg's depiction of China under Japan's brutal occupation. Bale returns to China during that period with <em>The Flowers of War</em>. Directed by Yimou Zhang (<em>House of Flying Daggers</em>), Bale plays an irresponsible American freebooter during the infamous “Rape of Nanking” (1938), when Japanese troops at their peak of inhumanity stormed one of China's largest cities in an orgy of slaughter. The arc of his character is defined by his eventual willingness to put aside selfishness and become a hero as he protects a group of Chinese schoolgirls in a Roman Catholic compound. The horror of war mingles with the hokum of Hollywood, yet at its best, <em>The Flowers of War</em> shows the berserker fury of savagery in uniform. It's out on Blu-ray and DVD.
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Christian Bale in Flowers of War
