ABSTRACT
The Flowers of War (jinling shisan chai) was a 2011 Chinese film directed by the famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou, and starring the Hollywood actor Christian Bale. It was the most expensive film ever made in China, with a budget of 600 million RMB ($US94 million), and it had earned 592.5 million RMB ($US93 million) in box office receipts in the period from December 2011 to January 2012 alone. Despite its enormous commercial success in China, it failed to be shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards, nor was it successful in its nomination at the Golden Globe Awards. For Zhang Yimou, this is the eighth time that he has sought but failed to receive an Oscar, and this can be seen as reflecting the continued inability for Chinese films to receive the international recognition commensurate with their domestic prominence.
