First photos of Christian Bale in THE 13 WOMEN ON NANJING

Here is our first look at Christian Bale in Zhang Yimou's The 13 Women of Nanjing, known previously as Nanjing Heroes.  This is one of the latest Chinese film versions of the infamous 1937 in which Japanese soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and soldiers, and raped thousands of women after the capture of the city of Nanjing. We first reported about the film that stars Bale as a priest in the back in December.

The script is based on Yan Geling‘s novel The 13 Women of Nanjing. The book tells the story of “thirteen prostitutes who stepped in for female university students who were to be taken as “escorts” for the troops during the period when nearly 20,000 women and girls were raped and killed by the Japanese troops.” Bale’s priest shtelters some of the prostitutes and students as the Japanese attack is ongoing.

Not much else is known about the story or the cast at this point. It's reported that about 60% of the dialogue is Mandarin Chinese and 40% English. This is one of the biggest productions ever to be mounted in China, and is slated for released in December of this year.

I have been a fan of Bale since his first feature film role in Empire of the Sun. This film sounds like it will be epic in scope and will be a big hit with history buffs and fans alike. Check out the two images below courtesy of Tianjinwe.com and share your thoughts: