The Flowers of War

John Miller, an American mortician who arrived at the convent to bury the foreign head priest, decides to impersonate the priest when Japanese soldiers come searching for girls to exploit. Pretending to be the priest gives him a position of authority and allows him to create a facade of legitimacy that might convince the Japanese soldiers to leave the girls alone. His quick thinking is the only barrier between the vulnerable schoolgirls and the soldiers.

Miller's experience as a mortician, working with deceased bodies and preparing them for burial, already demonstrates his comfort with deception and handling delicate situations.

When a prostitute is accidentally counted among the girls, bringing the total to thirteen, the leader Yu Mo decides that the prostitutes must protect the schoolgirls by taking their place. The prostitutes understand that being taken by Japanese soldiers likely means death or worse. By volunteering, they ensure the girls escape while they face the danger themselves. This act of selfless courage transforms them from outcasts into heroic protectors.

The prostitutes initially sought refuge in the convent basement, showing they value survival and safety, which makes their decision to sacrifice themselves even more significant.

The thirteen women, actually the disguised prostitutes, are escorted away by Japanese soldiers to participate in what was presented as an army victory celebration. The film does not explicitly show their fate, but given the historical context of the Nanking Massacre and the nature of the invitation, it strongly implies they face death or sexual violence. Their sacrifice allows the real schoolgirls to escape to safety.

Hasegawa's demand for the girls to perform and his insistence that they will be taken 'the next day' establishes the ominous fate awaiting whoever is taken.

Miller spends time repairing the convent's truck with help from Mr. Meng, a local collaborator whose daughter attends the convent. On the day the thirteen women are taken, Miller conceals the actual schoolgirls inside the truck's cargo area. While the Japanese soldiers are occupied escorting the disguised prostitutes away, Miller drives the truck out of Nanjing using a special permit obtained by Mr. Meng. The soldiers never realize they are watching the wrong people leave.

Miller's decision to repair the truck early in the film pays off as the only viable escape route from the besieged city.

Colonel Hasegawa requests the schoolgirls perform a choral piece as a demonstration of Japanese cultural superiority and their victory over China. Ordering young girls to perform for the conquering army serves as psychological propaganda, a way to display control and subjugation. After their performance, he extends an 'invitation' to the victory celebration, which is actually a command that cannot be refused.

Hasegawa's initial assurance that sentinels would protect the convent reveals his true intent was never to safeguard anyone but to establish Japanese authority.

Mr. Meng is a local collaborator who has a practical relationship with the Japanese occupation, but he is also the father of one of the schoolgirls at the convent. His dual role allows him to obtain a special permit that enables Miller to drive the truck out of Nanjing. Despite collaborating with the Japanese, his paternal instinct overrides political allegiance, and he uses his position to help save his daughter and the other girls.

Mr. Meng's initial cooperation with the Japanese establishes his access and influence, which becomes crucial for obtaining the escape permit.

Miller uses his mortician skills to transform the thirteen prostitutes into convincing imitations of the schoolgirls. He applies makeup and alters their appearance to match the girls' age and look. This disguise is convincing enough that the Japanese soldiers fail to notice the switch, counting the disguised women as the same group they originally came for.

Miller's professional expertise as a mortician, which he initially used to prepare bodies, becomes an unexpected tool for deception and survival.

John Miller's occupation as an American mortician serves multiple symbolic and practical purposes in the story. Practically, his experience with preparing bodies gives him skills in makeup and transformation that allow him to disguise the prostitutes convincingly. Symbolically, his profession represents death and his role at the convent initially seems to be about burying the dead. Yet he becomes a protector of life, using his skills to save rather than to prepare the dead.

Miller arrives at the convent specifically to bury the foreign head priest, establishing his connection to death before he becomes an agent of survival.

The number thirteen becomes crucial when a prostitute wanders out looking for her cat and is accidentally counted with the schoolgirls, bringing their group total to thirteen. This exact count is what triggers the prostitutes' decision to intervene, they now have the exact number needed to take the girls' place. The coincidence of this number enables the substitution plan that saves the actual schoolgirls.

The prostitute's search for her cat, a seemingly trivial act, creates the pivotal moment that makes the substitution possible.

The final scene shows the truck containing the schoolgirls driving down a deserted highway, moving away from Nanjing toward safety. This imagery represents a hard-won victory against overwhelming odds, the girls have escaped the horror of the Nanking Massacre. However, the escape is bittersweet because it was only possible through the sacrifice of the thirteen prostitutes who took their place.

The contrast between the truck moving toward safety and the knowledge of what awaits those who were taken creates the film's bittersweet tone.