The Flowers of War

The Flowers of War
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese金陵十三釵
Simplified Chinese金陵十三钗
Literal meaningThirteen Hairpins of Jinling
Hanyu PinyinJīnlíng shísān chāi
Directed byZhang Yimou
Written byLiu Heng
Based on13 Flowers of Nanjing
by Geling Yan
Produced byWilliam Kong
David Linde
Zhang Weiping
Zhang Yimou
Brandt Andersen
StarringChristian Bale
Ni Ni
Tong Dawei
Atsuro Watabe
CinematographyZhao Xiaoding
Edited byPeicong Meng
Music byQigang Chen
Production
companies
New Pictures Film Corporation
Row 1 Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • December 16, 2011 (2011-12-16) (China)
  • January 20, 2012 (2012-01-20) (United States)
Running time
146 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
Cantonese
English
Japanese
Budget$94 million
Box office$98.2 million
This article is part of the series on the
Nanjing Massacre
Japanese war crimes
Historiography of the Nanjing Massacre
Films
Books

The Flowers of War (Chinese: 金陵十三钗, Pinyin: Jīnlíng Shísān Chāi ) is a 2011 Chinese-Hong Kong historical drama war film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi and Cao Kefan.[1][2][3] The film is based on a novella by Geling Yan, 13 Flowers of Nanjing, inspired by the diary of Minnie Vautrin.[4] The story is set in Nanjing, China, during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the Second Sino-Japanese War. A group of escapees, finding sanctuary in a church compound, try to survive the Japanese atrocities.[5][6]

It was selected as the Chinese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards,[7][8][9] but did not make the final shortlist.[10] It also received a nomination for the 69th Golden Globe Awards.[11] The 6th Asian Film Awards presented The Flowers of War with several individual nominations, including Best Film.[12][13] The film's North American distribution rights were acquired by Wrekin Hill Entertainment, in association with Row 1 Productions, leading to an Oscar-qualifying limited release in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in late December 2011, with general release in January 2012.[14][15][16]

The Flowers of War received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing only $98 million against a $94 million budget.[17]

  1. ^ "Chinese filmmaker taps Christian Bale". Telegram.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 84th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Reel China: Christian Bale's 'Flowers' picked as Oscar submission". LosAngelesTimes.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  4. ^ BBC News 24 January 2012 "The story behind Chinese war epic The Flowers of War"
  5. ^ "13 Flowers of Nanjing Set Photos of Christian Bale". Collider.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "Toronto 2011: Christian Bale's China movie previewed for buyers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  7. ^ "Hong Kong chooses A Simple Life for Oscar race, China selects The Flowers of War". ScreenDaily.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  8. ^ Kilday, Gregg (September 23, 2011). "China to Submit 'The Flowers of War' in Foreign-Language Oscar Race". HollywoodReporter.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  9. ^ "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  10. ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  11. ^ "Zhang, Bale blossom together on 'Flowers of War'". GMANetwork.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  12. ^ "Flying Swords leads nominations for Asian Film Awards". ScreenDaily.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Napolitano, Dean (January 17, 2012). "'Flowers,' 'Flying Swords' Lead Asian Film Award Nominations". WSJ.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  14. ^ "The Flowers of War Acquired by Wrekin Hill Entertainment". MovieWeb.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  15. ^ "Poster for THE FLOWERS OF WAR is beautiful!". GeekTyrant.com. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  16. ^ "Win advance screening passes to see The Flowers of War". WashingtonCityPaper.com. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  17. ^ "Biggest movie flops: The 42 biggest box-office bombs". CBS News. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.