The first trailer has arrived for period epic The Flowers Of War , starring Christian Bale as a priest caught in the midst of the Japanese invasion of China.
Set in the city of Nanjing in 1937, the film sees Bale’s holy man on the run from the invading Japanese forces. Seeking sanctuary, he goes into hiding at a local church along with a group of defiant local women.
Take a look at the trailer below…
Directed by Hero ’s Zhang Yimou, the film looks pretty spectacular from a visual standpoint, and Bale looks set to belt out his fair share of grand-standing speeches, even if some of the dialogue is of the identikit, “time of warâ€, soul-searching variety.
The most expensive film in Chinese movie history, The Flowers Of War will be released in its home country on 16 December 2011, with a Western release pencilled in for early next year.