"SometimesI watch all kinds of movies except those about vampires and spiritism. I like war movies because I’m a history buff. Almost always, I am left emotionally drenched after watching dramatic scenes.  And it haunts me for a few days and sometimes months. Pearl Harbor, Heaven and Earth, Tears of the Sun, to name only a few.  Additionaly, I am compiling the BBC Series – Hunting Nazis.

The latest war movie I saw on my Media Player  and HDTV is “The Flowers of War”. It’s the latest project of Zhang Yimou who directed Jet Li’s “Hero”. It stars Christian Bale as a mortician who posed as a priest. The movie is based on the diary of Minnie Vantrin, an American missionary who served in Nanking. On a trivial note, Minnie took her own life in 1941 after returning from Nanking.

As in all war movies, it depicts the ugly evil side of war. But it showed humanity, courage, hope, sacrifice and heroism amidst insurmountable adversity. A “good for nothing” person can be a hero. There is always goodness in every person.

Some comments of moviegoers on the film:

1.       “Horrible things happened in history. Hate and anger won’t do any good today. Make peace with yourself and move on. Just like what George said in the movie, life is precious, it is not ours to throw away.”

2.       “I am about 40 and have been watching movies for 25 years. My history teacher cried sadly when she gave me the class about the darkest time in Chinese Modern history. For those who give cold comments about the movie, I confessed I tried hard to hold my tears next to my wife in the movie theatre”.

3.       “But the moment "little George" said: "there is no other way!" My salty tears kept rolling out! I hope people respect those victims and stop saying this piece of history does not exist. There were brave American medicals and priests who risked their lives at that time to keep journals and photo about the crimes.”

4.       “…And accusations that this movie is propaganda against Japan is simply unfounded - this is a war movie about courage, sacrifice and human compassion during very extreme circumstances. It simply make us reflect and appreciate the peace we are enjoying right now. “

5.       “ …A Chinese father becomes traitor to save his only daughter, bunch of prostitutes trying to save the students, A Chinese boy George enacting as a prostitute… And John plays a formidable role as a priest to protect the children, giving up his last chance to escape, and his newly found love…Each part of this packed with emotions… tears shed on humanity and injustice to humanity … watch , cry and be proud. After the movie one could walk with hatred , I for one is proud of Chinese, for exhibiting their humanity, “

Quotable quote from the movie:

 "Sometimes the truth is the last thing we need to hear."

Notable scenes I cannot forget:

1.       John: “ After this war, I will search for you and take you home”

Yu Mou:  “ No. After this moment, my body will not be mine anymore. You can take me home now”.

2.       When the ladies were boarding the truck for their “last performance”, I felt the sadness in the eyes of John and Mou. It’s maybe the last time they see each other. He may have wanted to embrace her but it cannot be. He can only touch her hand.

3.       When the truck successfully passed through from the Japanese checkpoint and on their way to freedom, tears started to roll down from the eyes of John.  He may never see again one person he learned to love. He may have saved the children but he wasn’t able to save Yu Mou.

My eyes also welled with tears. I have remembered the persons I love back home.