The Children Of Huang Shi Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Inspired by true events, THE CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI is a portrayal both sweeping and intimate of people who, thrown into an unexpected and desperate situation, discover their capacity for love and responsibility. It tells how a young Englishman, George Hogg came to lead sixty orphaned boys on an extraordinary journey of almost a thousand perilous miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. And of how, in doing so, he came to understand the true meaning of courage. During his journey, Hogg learns to rely on the support of Chen, the leader of a Chinese partisan group who becomes his closest friend. He soon finds himself falling in love with Lee, a recklessly brave Australian adventurer whom war has turned into an unsentimental nurse on horseback. Along the way Hogg befriends Madame Wang, an aristocratic survivor who has also been displaced by war, who helps the young Englishman, his friends and their sixty war orphans make their way across awesome (and rarely filmed) mountain and desert regions to a place of safety near the western end of the Great Wall of China.
| Jonathan Rhys Meyers | George Hogg |
| Radha Mitchell | Lee Pearson |
| Yun-Fat Chow | Chen Hansheng |
| Michelle Yeoh | Mrs. Wang |
| Guang Li | Shi-Kai |
| Lin Ji | Horse Rider |
| Matt Walker | Fisher |
| Anastasia Kolpakova | Duschka |
| Ping Su | Eddie Wei |
| Imai Hideaki | Japanese Officer |
| Sciichiro Hashimoto | Urbane Japanese Officer |
| Shinichi Takashima | Hostile Kempetai Officer |
| Xing Mang | Young Communist |
| Ruixiang Zhu | Japanese Officer II |
| Yuelong Fang | Rou Ding |
| Roger Spottiswoode |
7.10 out of 10 (500 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Disappointing, Flat and Lacking in Tension.
posted on 04 Aug 2009There is a good film struggling to get out of the heroic story of George Hogg. Unfortunately this isn't it. My son saw the words 'sweeping historical drama' on the DVD sleeve and headed for the door. "It's the kiss of death for a film," he said, "The word sweeping.....". Out of the mouths of babes......I'm not sure what it is about these international productions, financed by several countries, but they never quite seem to work, and they especially don't seem to work when the product is some kind of bio-pic. This seems to be a type of production much loved by the Australian film industry and as far as I can see, The Children of Huang Shi was made with money from Germany, China and Australia. Certainly this is a good story, and when the movie gets away from the badly lit set and into the countryside it's photogenic and pretty to watch, yet somehow it's all a bit dull. I strongly suspect that the need to keep several nations happy, leads to a smoothing out of script disagreements which leaves a rather anodyne finished product.The story, which is basically true - if tweaked a fair amount - concerns George Hogg, a young, English, Oxford graduate, who arrived in China in the years leading up to WW2 to work as a stringer for the Associated Press, and landed himself in the middle of the Japanese occupation. He managed to get into Nanjing where, after witnessing appalling atrocities, he was captured by the Japanese, narrowly avoided a beheading and after being injured, traveled up country to Huang Shi to recuperate. There he found himself in charge of an orphanage for boys. The boys had been abandoned by adults and were living a Lord of the Flies type existence. Most had witnessed terrible scenes themselves with family killed in front of them, bombings, massacres and near starvation. Initially unwilling, Hogg was persuaded by a Red Cross nurse (Lee Pearson) to stay and assist them. He built the orphanage into a strong community based on his pacifist principles, but finding that they were stuck between the advancing Japanese and the Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces – who wanted to recruit his charges as soldiers – he took his boys on a long trek over the mountains to China's remote and harsh interior where they would be safe. It's an interesting story, but the dialog is often leaden – even by the standards of the 1930s – and sometimes sounds as if it was written by a committee, none of whose members had English as a first language. It's very hard to get away with lines like "My mother had Ghandi to tea." Given the natural drama of the true story, I'm not certain why it's quite so disappointing, but one reason has to be the casting. Jonathan Rhys Meyers just doesn't have the gravitas to pull off the role of Hogg. (I know it's not his fault, but he reminds me too much of Rik Mayall in The Young Ones, a British TV comedy series from the 1980s.) I never believed in his Hogg, never felt he was a strong enough, or tough enough character to carry off the things that Hogg did. Rhys Meyers doesn't have the charisma to carry the movie, but Hogg is the central character and if he is not convincing, none of the rest can work either. I actually liked Rhys Meyers in Match Point a few years back, but this is too much of a stretch for him, he is wildly miscast here. He looks petulant and sulky and never fully rises to the occasion. Also rather miscast is Radha Mitchell as the American Nurse Pearson. And this is where I'm puzzled. Brief investigation of the actual facts reveals that the nurse who aided Hogg was a New Zealander not American. I assume her nationality has been changed to make the movie appeal to an American audience? So why cast an Australian in the role who is little known here in the USA? Mitchell was very effective in Finding Neverland where Johnny Depp carried the movie, but her performance here is monotone. There is no real heat generated between Hogg and Pearson, despite the attempt to inject a love story. It felt false and an appeasement to the audience.Also surprisingly bad is Yun-Fat Chow as the communist leader. David Wenham puts in a brief appearance but is killed off early. I assume he's there to appeal to the Australian audience, but he's around for far too short a time to be effective. However Michelle Yeoh is stand out as Mrs Wang, a local trader who assists Hogg, and I actually thought the kids all pretty good and rather appealing, despite other IMDb reviewers thinking otherwise. They tackle their parts with honesty. It felt as if the casting had been done to appeal broadly to all the nationalities who put up the money, but if the actors don't fit the parts, that cannot work. The whole production has a stilted feel. It's not actively bad, but it's nowhere near as good as the story demands. I'd like to see it re-made with a really strong actor as Hogg, and a more nuanced interpretation of Pearson, and, if the love story must be in there, then some genuine passion between the two leads. Disappointing.
Heke is a hero
posted on 21 Jun 2009I watched this movie last Saturday, and here are some feelings of mine. "The children of Huangshi" brought me an vivid image of the reality during the pre-WWⅡ. George Hogg, also known as Heke was a courageous, insistent and responsible man. He treated the homeless orphans as ordinary innocent children while the Japanese enemy and the nationalists never showed any mercy to them. Children were victims of the wars. They lost their families, their childhood, and even their courage to live. Wars also raised the hatred in their mind, changing them into devils. In the movie, two echo scenes impressed me a lot： One is the photo of Shikai' family, the other is a photo of a Japanese soldier. Shikai saw his parents and his sister be killed atrociously by Japanese and since then he became dissociable and unreasonable and the only hope to him was the photo. When he got the chance to kill Japanese, he did it decidedly, only to find that a family photo holding in the soldier's hands. Heke tried to release the children's hatred and he wanted them to be normal children. At some aspect, he succeeded, because the children of Huangshi, e.g. Laosi, found his way back to be a happy child under Heke's education; however, the damage of the war was too huge to be cured. Most of the children were saved but not what they were used to be any more. Anyway, Heke is a great man. Although he is a foreigner, he is our national hero forever.
A Nearly Impossible Story to Tell or Believe: True Heroism
posted on 22 May 2009THE CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI is a long (greater than two hours) epic tale that happens to be a true story of an extraordinary hero's life and gift to humanity during World War II. If as a film the telling of this story is a bit shaky in spots, it is probably due to the episodic series of events that happened very quickly and under existing conditions of profound stress. Yet despite the occasional misfires in production this remains a bit of history we all should know. George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a journalist assigned to Shanghai in 1937 and with his colleagues he plans to explore the extent of the invasion of China by the Japanese. Under the guise of Red Cross workers his small band manages to enter Nanjing where now alone due to the loss of his friends to battle he observes and photographs the atrocities of mass murders of the people of Nanjing. He is captured by the Japanese, tortured when his confiscated camera reveals his terrifying photographs, and it is only by acts of fortune and the aid of a Chinese Nationalist Chen Hansheng (Chow Yun-Fat) that he escapes. Hogg probes the Chinese countryside for further evidences of the evil of the Japanese invasion, and he finds a village of children (adults are all absent) and realizes that he is in an orphanage without a leader. At first reluctant to assume the role of guardian of these impoverished and filthy frightened children, he soon accepts his responsibility and is challenged by an Australian nurse Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell) to become not only the caretaker but also the father/teacher/provider/role model these children so desperately need. Seeing the advancing of the Japanese, Hogg decides to take his wards 700 mile away to a small village by the Gobi desert reachable only by the infamous Silk Road. It is this journey and the way both the children and Hogg are affected by the challenge that absorb the greater part of the film. Observing the transformation of George Hogg's view of the world is made credible by Jonathan Rhys Meyers' performance. The cast of children often steals the limelight, but with supporting cast members such as Chow Yun-Fat, Radha Mitchell and Michelle Yeoh as an opium merchant the story never lacks color and character. The look of the film is dark, but the message of this story is full of light. Here is a bit of Chinese history we should all know! Grady Harp
A story needed to be told
posted on 12 May 2009This is like a Schindler's List for the Chinese. It's a war story that focuses not on the terror and pain and atrocities, but on the good a person can do and it is based on a true story. Something that needs to be told and remembered.That being said, was it a well told story? Yes and no. It seemed terribly fragmented to me, moving from one scene to the other with the speed of a bullet. It is hard to "feel" the individual character changes because it all happens so fast. Of course, I couldn't expect a two hour movie to slowly tell a story that spanned many months in real life, but still. You can't show two friends entering China, then one dying and completely omit him from the story from then on because you don't have time. On the other hand, I hardly see the subject as appropriate for a mini series.Bottom line: good story, good acting, watch it if you feel the need for a good war time drama that inspires.
Less Glamour, More Facts Would Do Justice
posted on 24 Apr 2009Who was George Hogg, really? Do an Internet search and you'll see that his name is variously interpreted as a "footballer," a midshipman on the Titantic, and various unknowns in genealogy charts. But Nie Quangpei, a Chinese orphan whose life Hogg saved, had this to say: "They say there isn't a perfect man in this world, but Hogg was." Nie,now a middleaged tradesman in the PRC, seems to have had more insight into the forging of character than the writers and director (Australian Roger Spottiswoode) of the film. "He changed," says Nie of Hogg's transformation from a raw university graduate to a father figure to 60 boys under extraordinary circumstances. "He became a different man."While the facts are not widely public except to Sinophiles, they are impressive on their face. An English blueblood and Oxford grad, the handsome Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers)tried his hand at journalism in wealthy, up-and-coming Shanghai and could have led the good life for the duration of WWII. Instead he connected with a like-minded benefactor, Rewi Alli, to determine what could be done with orphans and the homeless. After mastering Mandarin he became the headmaster of Shuangshi-pu school, mostly for orphans, in a northwestern province. He made a success of teaching and administering there until fear of the oncoming Japanese invasion convinced him to leave. Managing to cross some 600-700 miles in the dead of winter with children and books on carts, he re-established them in a converted monastery--all with little help and few resources. Though keenly aware of the irony of staying in China while his own country was under threat, Hogg came to terms with who he was and was deeply loved by his charges in the process. Today a statue in his honor stands in his final resting place in Shanan, Gansu.Spottiswoode, though, prefers to go for the blood, sex, and supposedly, the glory. Briefly seen as a journalist at parties in Shanghai, his Hogg finds a way to make it to Nanking to get the perfect story on the Japanese invasion, but while there nearly suffers a beheading when the invaders discover him. (In reality, the Japanese had their hands full with just dispatching locals with guns--the efficient killing method of choice--for the most part ignoring Westerners.) Just in the nick of time, Hogg is saved by a counter-revolutionary (a suave, goatee-bedecked Chow Yun Fat) and a beautiful American nurse, Lee (Australian Radha Mitchell), whose presence in circumstances of extreme personal peril is never entirely explained. But no matter: she is portrayed as the one who convinces Hogg to take shelter in an orphanage, to learn Chinese and otherwise take a breather. As she comes and goes to the orphanage, her existence means a film opportunity for romance, as though Hogg's real-life challenge of adapting to near-starvation conditions and nurturing traumatized children could have been inspiration enough for anyone. A hint of a love triangle also surfaces in the person of a beautiful, exquisitely dressed local merchant of opiates (Michelle Seoh) who will go to any lengths to serve Hogg's cause.History, as documentarian Ken Burns has proved, can be compelling in its own right. It can both stranger than fiction and more powerful, as we see the choices others have made that we do or don't choose to emulate. A decent tribute to Hogg's life would have demanded that his unheralded acts stand in stark relief to the pointless cruelties of war around him. That didn't happen in this movie. His legacy to the weak and unfortunate lives on, most recently in a book published this January in Beijing (Ocean Devil, by James MacManus). And final testimonies at the end of "Children of Huang Shi" from boys saved by Hogg--boys who are now in late middle age--do something to capture the essence of respectful biography but still, not nearly enough. The movie was exquisitely filmed in Chinese and Australian locales at a 40 million budget and unfortunately has grossed only 691,000 as of late July. If history and film could align a little more closely, I like to think that both the audience and box office would have profited.
One of the better films of 2008
posted on 29 Mar 2009There already have been more than a few films about China & the peoples straggles in the 1930's & in WW 2. There also have been a few about a dedicated person helping children escaping from wars horrors. So what makes this film so much better.First, this was made in China in actual locations. The scenery is breathtaking.It is based on a real person Charles Hogg a journalist in his 20's,who reluctantly became head of a school of orphans,who with the help of a young nurse leads these young children 700 miles across China to a safer area.There was a similar film many years ago with Ingrid Bergman, Inn of the Sixth Happinness; which in itself was an excellent movie.Jonathan Rhyss-Meyer who is under 30 is Hogg & fits the role perfectly. Radha Mitchell is the Aunstralian nurse ,she has a difficult role to play, she does have personal problems.She too, fits here role perfectly.Ynn Fat Chow (AKA Chow Yun Fat)is a soldier & Hogg's friend. This fine actor has yet to give a bad performance. Michelle Yeoh also has a major role & is greatIn fact all the acting & all the production values are first rate.This film is based on fact,I cannot & will not say how accurate it is. I only know I felt watching it, I saw a wonderful well made film.As one would expect there are some clichés, Very few if any films escape from having themIt was excellently directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It did have a theatrical run in the USA, playing in small handful of theatres.WHY OH WHY do they do this is beyond me. Granted there are few exciting action packed scenes, this is NOT that type of film.. Ratings; **** (out of 4) 98 points (out of 100) IMDb 10 (out of 10)
A well-intentioned movie that stays on a course of political correctness
posted on 03 Mar 2009To those who can remember that far, this movie has close kinship, or is even a non-identical twin to, "The Inn of six Happiness" where Ingrid Bergman portrayed Gladys Aylward, an English woman who escaped with 100 Chinese children from the invading Japanese. "Escape from Huang Shi" (or "The children of Huang Shi) is almost identical in many ways, the story of English reporter George Hogg who took 60 Chinese children on a "mini long March" along the Silk Road to safety before the Japaneses' onslaught hit the orphanage. There is a little more detail in this story prior to Hogg getting to the orphanage where he won the heart of the children embittered from witnessing atrocities unspeakable done to their loved ones. But the relationship between Hogg and these children is the heart of the story. Most remarkable is what we see during the end credit roll, where some of these children (now well advanced in age) recounting how they remember him – the most touching part of the movie.This is not to say that the dramatization in the movie is not well done. Here, the credit goes first and foremost to the cast. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell are two of the most notable actors today not because of their looks (which they certainly have) but because they are good character actors. Meyers is great in his portrayal of Hogg as a mild-tempered young man from a sworn Pacifist family finding himself challenged by the emotion of hate triggered by some of the things he witnessed. Mitchell is wonderful as nurse Lee Pearson who seems at first hardened and drained of any emotions after all the atrocities she has seen, but later found to have a weak spot of her own.Chow Yun-fat plays "Jack" Chen, a seasoned military man who saves Hogg from decapitation under a Japanese sword and goes on to help him all along the way. This character is portrayed with a dry sense of humour uncharacteristic of the Chinese people at the time. This is a good approach as it balances somewhat the story that is essentially heavily tragic. Chow handles the role with customary ease, making his character very likable. Michelle Yeoh plays Mrs Wang, a successful, pragmatic merchant who, although taking pains to hide it, also has a caring heart. Yeoh has everything it takes to bring out the dignity and charm that prompted Hogg to refer to her as "a great lady" when he said goodbye upon taking on the "march".This Australia/China/Germany collaboration steers a careful course of political correctness in the sensitive issue of the delicate relationship between the Chinese Nationalist and Communists during the Japanese invasion. The depiction of Japanese atrocities of course need not be spared unless one wants to falsify history, but even here, there is only very brief mention of historical details. The main focus of this movie is a human story well worth telling, as the interviews of the actual survivors shown with the end credits clearly underscore.
Meh...Just Okay.
posted on 08 Jan 2009I just saw this in the theater and was REALLY looking forward to seeing it with the GREAT Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, but although the scenery and large amount of money spent in making this, the film still falls flat. I am sure many people like Jonathan Rhys Meyers, but this guy CANNOT act to save his life!!!!!!!! Another reviewer thought that Radha Mitchell was wooden, but I didn't mind her performance although her Aussie occasionally slipped in. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh's performances, while fun to watch, seemed a bit "phoned in", although the supporting cast of children wasn't too bad. The script was very, very weak and there were a couple of times when they had the Japanese fighter planes strafing the ground that you could DEFINITELY tell that they were squibs and did NOT come off as genuine bullets hitting the ground (too much spark and flash). Overall, really sad considering the time and effort that went into making this film. I likely WON'T pick this one up on DVD unless it's really cheap.
A Nutshell Review: Escape from Huang Shi
posted on 15 Dec 2008So the posters have Chow Yun Fat's mug splattered in the center and given top billing. However, this is actually Jonathan Rhys Meyers' vehicle as he plays the central character of George Hogg, an Associated Press reporter who smuggles himself into Nanjing pre-WWII and witnessed the atrocities of the invading Japanese army. Inspired by a true story, this is about the life of Hogg as he takes it upon himself to do whatever he can to save a group of orphans he gets set up and acquainted with.What of Chow? His Chen Hansheng, a communist fighting against the Japanese, gets relegated to supporting appearances, to give us some brief history lessons on the uneasy alliance between the communists and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, as they only link up with each other to fight a common enemy when it conveniences both parties. You would come to think that, from the trailers, this is gonna be quite an action packed movie with Chow leading his group of merry men to do battle against the Japanese, but the movie employs a "fight another day" stance, and the central plot has nothing to do with that too.And pairing up in the same movie after their Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stint is Michelle Yeoh, only this time, they don't get to share any scene together, and worse, Yeoh's role as a rich merchant Mrs Wang gets severely diminished. No doubt it is clear that the prospects of uniting Chow and Yeoh together would bring in curious crowds who can't wait to savour the opportune moment, but alas they happen to be just the side dishes.Jonathan Rhys Meyers, joined by Radha Mitchell, fresh from her battle with a beastly crocodile, takes on leading man status, as the reporter who finds himself thrusts into Huang Shi, and into the enclave of 60 male orphans, living in filth, and without hope. Strongly encouraged to stay behind and take care of them, he becomes the reluctant and unwilling teacher, but slowly wins over the hearts and trust of the children, and hence begins a fairy tale like environment that seemingly is remotely away from the war in China, except for the enemy planes flying overhead serving as a reminder.However, it's soon that they find themselves between a rock and a hard place, with the Japanese inching closer, and the Nationalists wanting to possess their land for their use, as well as to conscript those boys into warfare. Not wanting that to happen, Hogg packs them all up, and so begins the journey proper as per what the title says.The events that unfold are just plain sailing without any tension involved, nor any excitement built up. It just flat-lines its way through beautiful environments of mountains and plains, coupled with treacherous snows and sandstorms, but otherwise, it seemed that their 1000km trek looked quite peanuts. What's more amusing here though is how the Chinese cast look so much more comfortable speaking English - I thought Chow has improved by leaps and bounds, but Meyers and Mitchell really sounded very off in their Mandarin diction, that you'll find it quite ridiculous that the parties they speak to, can understand them totally. Brownie points have to be given for their courage to speak, and give the language a go, though again it could be playing to character as one cannot master the language in such a short period of time.At the end of the day, this played out more like a simple account of an event that had happened (of course again with artistic license taken), and the documentary-styled interview segments at the end while the end credits play, affirmed what happened and gave us some insights into Hogg's character, much more that what the film had portrayed. While the alternate title might seem to involve the Children quite a bit, only a few were given names and faces, and even fewer given personalities. Similar to movies like Schindler's List and Hotel Rwanda where the ability of one man helped save many, but this one lacked that crucial emotional punch.
We should thank Hogg
posted on 01 Dec 2008As a Chinese,I Was moved by Hogg.He was a foreigner to Chinese,but he did his best to look after all the children.At first,he thought the only thing he wanted to do was to let the world know the china's events.Teaching the children was not his purpose.But in the end,he began to attend to the children and finally he took them a safety place called Shandan.He liked peace so he wanted to the children lived in a peace place.But unfortunately,he was suffered from lockjaw. The life was not easy for the orphans at that time.A boy felt home's importance and finally suicided.We should remember the foreign friends who contributed a lot to China's revolution.In addition,we must treasure what we owe today.
One Of My Picks To Click For Best Of The Year!
posted on 29 Nov 2008After I exited the theater that screened 'The Children Of Huang Shi', I was on a cloud. This is easily one of the best films of 2008 (so far the other is Mongol). The plot concerns a foreign correspondent from Australia in China covering the Chinese/Japanese war in 1937, who gets in over his head by venturing out of the safety zone of Bejing, into the thick of the war, and gets involved helping an orphanage of Chinese war orphans. A woman doctor also gets tossed in for good measure in the proceedings. This is a finely acted drama that is a bit rough to watch at times, but is well worth the effort. You could do a lot worse than 'The Children Of Huang Shi' (does 'You Don't Mess With The Zohan' mean anything?)
Missed its mark.
posted on 27 Nov 2008This movie would have been better as a fantasy instead of a historical drama. It would have made more sense that way. Children of Huangshi starts off with a bang, appearing as if it's going to be some epic masterpiece, but by the end of the movie, you're left wondering where the story went.I'm not an expert on the specific details of history during this period, but after reading some other reviews, it looks like neither are the creators. Then again, I don't expect movies, even historical ones, to always be historically accurate. But what bothers me is that it's obvious this movie was made by some westerner or at least someone who doesn't actually know much about China and Chinese people. It's okay to be from a different culture, but please do your research. Every time Chow Yun-fat's character acted as if he stepped out of a Jackie Chan movie, I winced with pain. Since this movie was partially made by a Chinese production company, I'm even more disappointed.As for the acting, good job Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. At least he's easy on the eyes. The other actors did an all right job as well. Nothing awful but nothing to write home about. However, I (and the movie) could've done without the heavy dialogue. At points it sounded much too forced and unnatural, not to mention, incredibly cheesy.It also bothered me that by the end of the move, the plot seems to revolve around the main character and his romance. Shouldn't it be less about snogging and more about Hogg's relationship with the children? I thought that was the point of the story and that's why he's famous: helping kids in the face of war and cultural differences and not screwing some blonde chick. It doesn't take a hero to do the latter.Beautiful cinematography, but poorly written and poorly executed.
This is a top quality movie
posted on 19 Nov 2008This is a top quality movie; it is inspirational. Jonathan Rhys Meyers' acting was superb. The scenery was beautiful and the children were touching. I highly recommend this movie. Here was a true hero in every sense of the word. George Hogg risked his life to save the lives of innocent children. He also risked his life to publicize the truth. His parents were courageous pacifists. He struggled with the dilemma of when pacifism is appropriate and when fighting back is appropriate. Yun-Fat Chow and Michelle Yeoh were also outstanding in their roles. It was interesting and informative regarding a period of history and location that is not that widely known about in the West.
A beautiful story but what a terrible script!
posted on 10 Oct 2008OK, so this story is based on true events, I can see why someone would like this story to be told. But why didn't they work with good writers, this story is cut in little pieces, cliché upon cliché and then tight together to make one piece out of it. The actors really don't know what to do with the lines they get and the director really didn't know what he wanted to tell. Is this a hero-story? Is this a love-story? Is this a historic adventure? Is this a war-story? I give one example: in the beginning of the story, the love-interest (Mitchell) is talking to the hero (Meyers) about how important it is that she is around, being a nurse, and knows that one scratch can lead to an infection and to death. So she tells that she cleans the wounds and tells the patient how important it is to do this as quick as possible, even if 'it's just a scratch'. Later on in the movie Meyers cuts himself when he's working on replacing a tire and tells Mitchell 'it's just a scratch'. And she SMILES at him.What the f?!! Wasn't she supposed to clean this wound as she told all those people she nursed in the war to do so they wouldn't die? Guess what happens to Meyers... And actually it's her fault I yelled at the screen annoyed.and please, don't even mention the monologues the actors get to work with during the movie. Even a first year scriptwriters school student would do better in writing them. So cliché and predictable. I pity the actors - they must have read the script before they said yes. Why did they accept such bad writing? They probably needed the money. The sceneries are beautiful, Michelle Yeoh has the best part and is the only actor that I believed. (maybe because she didn't have that many lines?). I'm afraid those are the only things that worked out well. The story is fabricated and doesn't have a nice flow, the actors really have difficulties working the lines they get from the writers and clearly the director didn't know what he wanted to do with this story.If it wasn't for the beautiful settings, and the fact that you could sense there was (somewhere) a story worth telling, it would have been a total waste of time watching this movie. Well it definitely was a waste of money making it, I would read the book if I were you.
Why? Why? Why?
posted on 04 Oct 2008The first time I heard about the premise of the film, one thought popped into my head: "The Sound of Music". The real thing was much worse.Many questions haunted me throughout the film, all starting with: Why? Why did the initial description already show an erroneous grasp of history? (The Japanese took control of Shanghai, and then went on to Nanjing, all as part of a single campaign. Not many reporters tried to rush into Nanjing. In fact, many could not get out, which was why they could report what happened.) Why was Meyers' acting in the initial scenes so bad? Why would someone (Fisher, I think his name was) go boxing, and let others punch him in the face repeatedly, a few days before his own wedding? Why was the one scene of the massacre done so badly that it failed to evoke any emotion? Why was the beheading contest by the Japanese, reported as "The Hundred Beheadings" in the Japanese newspapers, in Nanjing not mentioned at all? Why were the Communists in Nanjing? (The city was a Nationalist stronghold, and the Communist had no military presence in town before, during and after the massacre. Communist attacks on the Japanese army during WW2, few and far between as they were, took place largely in the countryside. The Communists were busy expanding their bases of support with the farmers and peasants. They were conserving their strengths and letting the Nationalists (i.e. someone else, who happens to be their mortal enemies) do most of the fighting.) Why were they growing sunflowers, when everyone was short of food? Why did they have fuel to run the generator? Why do the uniforms of the Nationalist army look exactly like those of the Japanese Imperial Army? (The Nationalist army uniforms were gray.) Why would the caravan encounter Japanese army personnel going "the other way" near Lanzhou? (The Japanese only wished they got that far inland.) Why would Chen (Chow Yun Fat) waste three bullets to salute Shi Kai, and risk attracting attention? (These are Chinese people, not westerners.) Why did the film title really mean "Escape from Huangshi (and from the Nationalist for fear of conscription)"? Why did the uniforms of the police in Lanzhou look just like those of the police in Shanghai? (Shanghai police's uniforms were unique. The writers probably assumed police uniforms in China in the 1930's were like those in USA/Oz today, the same across the country.) Why would the officials in a poor town like Lanzhou just give away (not lend, but give away) four trucks which must be valuable assets of the local government? Why did none of the livestock get eaten throughout the whole journey? (As some guy near me commented out loud) Why was Chow Yun Fat just walking around and dropping in on the children once in a while? Why was Chow Yun Fat free to roam all the way over in Lanzhou, when all the fighting was in central and eastern China? Why did none of the kids have any personality? (They might as well have been cut out of cardboards. But maybe the writers got it right by accidence, since Chinese kids are mostly compliant like this.) Why was this in the end just another film about two westerners, with China largely the backdrop? Why was this film directed so badly that I felt nothing for any of the main characters at all? Why would anyone allow scriptwriters who don't really know Chinese history or the Chinese frame of mind to write a script and waste money like this?
Another free take on history
posted on 04 Jun 2008This could have been such a great movie if the makers had not taken so many liberties with a story which neither needs nor deserves it. The story of George Hogg and Rewi Alley, a communist from New Zealand, who saved 60 orphans from the ravages of the Second World War by taking them on a 1,100 km trek across mountainous terrain is truly inspirational. Why Alley, the true leader of the expedition, had to be replaced by an American nurse with a drug problem is anybody's guess. Probably to add romantic interest to the story, because just about the only thing the film makers deem interesting enough during the epic journey across the mountains is the fact the leading man and lady finally hit the sack together. When will they ever learn? Trying to sell this as a 'true' should be punishable by a fine which matches the eventual profits, DVD sales included. Other reviewers have remarked how little attention the actual children get in a movie that is called "Children of Huang Shi", so I won't go into that. All in all 3 stars for the often stunning photography.
Good but not great story of a man saving children in time of war
posted on 07 Apr 2008Film version of the life of George Hogg. Hogg was a British national who went to China during the Rape of Nanking as a reporter and ended up taking care of a bunch of orphans in the face of Japanese barbarity on the Chinese people.The version I saw was dubbed completely in Chinese and had English subtitles. As it stands now its a good but rather standard film about a man who tried to do something in the face of war. The film stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Hogg. He's fine, but I don't think he's given much to do since much of the action seems to be reduced to cliché, even the romance with the broken Australian nurse has the feeling of been there. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yoeh have small but important roles (respectively) as a general who befriends Hogg and a black marketeer who helps him. I liked it but didn't love it (its one of those films thats "almost.." but isn't and falls between the cracks). Perhaps because of the possibly bad subtitles or more likely the clichéd script the under appreciated Roger Spottiswoode used just isn't great. This isn't to say there aren't a couple of great set pieces, there are, the attack on the train in particular, but its not enough to raise the film from the near great to the great, or from nearly very good to very good. It just sort of misses. The just sort of misses feeling was re-enforced after I read some pieces on line which gives more details on the real George Hogg (He needs a miniseries about his life not two hour film) 6ish out of 10
The children are the future
posted on 01 Apr 2008Last year wifey won some tickets to see this at the cinema. We never got round to it, but on the weekend it was wifey's choice of movie (being her birthday and all) and she picked this."Children Of The Silk Road" is based upon the remarkable true story of journalist George Hogg (played by the annoying Jonathan Rhys Meyers, in his finest work since "Bend It Like Beckham), a Brit who during the 30's found himself in China looking for untold stories and ended up being the saviour to a heap of young orphan boys.Hogg bravely chose to go to China in the 30's to try to tell the world about the atrocities being committed by the Japanese soldiers on innocent civilians. He gets caught by the Japanese early on into his trip and is about to be murdered when he saved by a small band of Chinese fighters, headed by Chen (Chow Yun-Fat, in his finest work since "Ban wo chuang tian ya"). Chen helps him on his way, where he eventually comes across an orphanage in an abandoned grand building. Here he meets up again with US nurse Lee (played by Radha Mitchell, in her best work since some guest appearances on Aussie sitcom favourite "All Together Now"). She challenges George to stay and help these abandoned boys rather than just run back home like a little nancy boy. George stays and ends up dramatically changing the boys lives. Word soon reaches him though that the Japanese will be coming, so he must take them on a seemingly crazy 700mile journey through the rough Chinese winter to refuge. Will they survive and reach freedom? See it to find out.Not bad and certainly inspiring in pieces. Meyers pulled it off reasonably well considering how unappealing he is to men in general, if not for a few scenes that were uncomfortably awkward. One of the better movies set in China I've seen, perhaps even better than "Rush Hour".
Riding with Company for Thousands of Miles
posted on 18 Mar 2008Children of Hueng Shi (2008) **1/2(Quick Review)Caught this one a little while ago. I was a bit disappointed, though i wasn't really expecting too much I suppose to begin with. The story follows the true adventures of British journalist George Hogg during WWII in China, who witnessed atrocities at the hands of Imperial Japan. Hogg eventually ends up at a school, where he reluctantly, of course, becomes attached to the children. Hogg, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, along with the help of an Austrailian Nurse (Mitchell) and a Chinese Communist (Yun-Fat) leads sixty children on a thousand mile journey across China's mountains to safety, away from invading Japanese forces. The technical quality of the film-making is solid - as is to be expected from Spottiswoode. However, it also carries the usual Spottiswoode flaws - namely more expositional dialogue than you can shake a stick at and convenient contrivances throughout. I enjoyed Spottiswoode's previous film, the far superior Shake Hands with the Devil (which itself it not without his usual faults), but I just couldn't get into this one. The dialogue is too heavy handed and half of it is dedicated to delivering a history lesson. Spottiswoode's desire to inform is certainly admirable, and the story and the background history certainly are worthy of telling. Nevertheless, attempting to deliver both in depth is a recipe for failure. The acting is for the most part fine: Yun-Fat delivers a fine performance, as does Rhys-Meyers, who I think someday will likely deliver an amazing rendering of a psychopath (the eyes!). Overall, I can't quite recommend it, and my review may be slightly off as I don't remember it very well (which may actually justify my review). I wouldn't however tell you to avoid it. I'll probably rewatch it someday myself just to see how this review stacks up.
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Be forewarned: This is not a film for the historical-minded
posted on 24 Aug 2009"The Japanese are not savages," insists George Hogg(Jonathan Rhys Meyers)to a fellow photo-journalist, while from their vehicle, we see refugees traverse the Nanking roadsides and the Japanese soldiers who keep the Chinese capital under siege. Both men find themselves in this foreign land on a mission to substantiate reports about a massacre. When George finds himself separated from his colleague, he witnesses a group of Chinese men and women being gunned down mass execution style. Although "The Children of Huang Shi" doesn't whitewash the violence that went down in Nanking, the filmmaker does temper the killing to a degree, in which ethnic cleansing never becomes the subject of the film. If you're expecting an adaptation of Iris Chang's "The Rape of Nanking", you'll be sorely disappointed. When our story begins, the massacre is over and done with. Since "The Children of Huang Shi" withholds from its audience the number of Chinese people involved in the slaughter, this enables the filmmaker to portray the Japanese as rational people.In one scene, George convinces an army general to call off his troops from searching for weapons at a random check-point. The filmmaker wants us to believe that the Japanese official would care about his soldiers contaminating the sterilized medical supplies meant for the sick and injured Chinese people. This show of clemency is downright laughable. In "The Rape of Nanking", Chang details instances in which women's babies were ripped out of their wombs, young girls being raped, while the city was reduced to rubble, and its people, literally, chopped into pieces. Later in the film, a Japanese soldier discovers the hat of a comrade placed on the head of a Chinese boy. George explains that the orphan found the hat on the ground during their sojourn. Even worse, one of the older boys points his gun at the Japanese contingent. Incredibly, an exchange of gunfire is averted, even though the historical record shows that the Japanese soldier had no qualms about aiming their guns at children.But let's be fair. Along with the HBO documentary "Nanking", the story of Japan's war crimes are finally being told to a western audience. It's about time. Although the orphans don't get enough credit for their own survival, George Hogg is deserving of the accolades that his self-evident heroism brought him. But just in case the audience fails to recognize what this man accomplished, Mrs. Wang, an opium dealer, tells George how wonderful he is. Lee(Radha Mitchell) seconds that emotion. She had her doubts when the nurse assigned George to the orphanage. And then there's the real-life survivors who offer their testimony about his greatness during the closing credits.The film never proves that the Japanese are savages, but Lee was in Nanking during the siege. If the audience knew about the nature of the attack, Lee's disproportionate anger over George's redecorating efforts on her living quarters, which inspires the nurse to storm out of the orphanage, would make this British woman completely insufferable.The less you know about "The Rape of Nanking", the better.