Christian Bale is back, but not as Batman. He's taking over China in "The Flowers of War," and he's no superhero in this film.

Apart from being China's official entry for the foreign language Oscar, it is also said to be the most expensive Chinese movie ever made with a budget around $94 million. Based on the novel "13 Flowers of Nanjing" by Yan Geling and directed by Zhang Yimou with a script by Liu Heng, "The Flowers of War" is set in the 1930's during the Japanese invasion of China's city, Nanjing.

Bale's role is not far from the deviant hero he is under the mask of Batman. Instead of saving the world with his batmobile, Bale is cast as a priest who protects a group of local women. He plays an American mortician by the name of John Miller, who comes to Nanjing to bury a priest.

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However, after having been exposed to the horrors of the war, Bale assumes the role of the priest to protect the schoolgirls from Japanese soldiers.

What made Christian Bale accept such a role? According to the actor, it was out of respect for Zhang's work.

"I didn't look at this as any sort of opportunity or pioneering effort," says Bale after the press conference of the movie's screening, originally posted at the Los Angeles Times.

"I'm surprised when people say, 'Oh, he's the first person to have done this.' It just seemed like a very natural thing to do."

The film will be out in China Friday before its overseas release in the United States on Dec. 23. The trailer alone provides a spectacular visual standpoint that has the power to move people. If it's interesting enough for Batman, then it should be interesting enough to lure ordinary people in. 

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