Twenty minutes of footage from “Raise the Red Lantern” director Zhang Yimou’s latest film was screened for prominent U.S. film distributors and the media at the Toronto International Film Festival Friday morning. “The Flowers of War,” a World War II drama whose working title was “Heroes of Nanking,” stars Christian Bale as an American caught in the former Chinese capital amidst the infamous “Rape of Nanking” by the Japanese Imperial Army, in 1937. The American becomes an unlikely savior for two very different groups trapped in a Catholic church: a bevy of young schoolgirls and 13 notorious courtesans. Based on the novel “13 Flowers of Nanjing” by Geling Yan, “Flowers” was adapted by Liu Heng, who previously wrote the screenplays for Mr. Zhang’s “The Story of Qui Ju” and “Ju Dou.” The movie was produced by Mr. Zhang’s long-time associate Zhang Weiping. The $100 million budget makes “Flowers” mainland China’s most expensive production to date. The movie is to be released in China in December and is currently looking for a U.S. distributor to play the film in time for awards season. The preview footage, which featured some temporary visual effects, begins with scenes of Japanese army tanks invading Nanking and mowing down Chinese soldiers. Continue reading on Speakeasy
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Zhang Yimou Offers Peek at ‘The Flowers of War’ in Toronto
