Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courage on the Silk Road, April 22, 2008
This is the true account of George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a young English journalist in China during the Japanese occupation of 1937. Initially there to cover the occupation and all that that entails, he and another journalist manage to infiltrate into an area where they are not welcome disguised as Red Cross workers. Things take an ugly turn, and George finds himself alone and wounded, captured by the Japanese, and about to be executed when he is rescued by a Chinese partisan. He is whisked away to a remote orphanage in the hills to recuperate, and what is at first only tolerated by the invalid becomes his mission in life.
With the help of the Chinese partisan (the great Chow Yun Fat) and a young Australian woman adventurer/nurse (Radha Mitchell), George undertakes an almost unbelievable task: to evacuate the sixty orphan boys in the orphanage he has turned into a school 700 miles through China mountain passes on the Silk Road to the edge of the Gobi Desert, to save them from being conscripted into war.
Beautifully filmed, the movie portrays mid-twentieth century China against breathtaking vistas and crowded cities amidst ancient buildings and sweeping deserts. The full vast scope of China is so gorgeously shown it makes you want to go there, and retells the story of George and his sixty young charges to a new generation of moviegoers who most likely have never heard of the Japanese Occupation. There is a beautiful score as well; the right music compliments a film, and this is all that and more.
I love a good historical drama well told, and there are no missteps here. This was an excellent film.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A" for effort, intent, and beauty., July 13, 2008
I agree with Flight Risk's review of this film on all accounts. I saw the movie last night, and could not help but be very moved by it. I am also glad that this man's obscure story is being told, as anyone can use it as an example for their life...I know that it has touched me greatly.
Technically a few flaws can be found, and most media reviewers are doing so, and completely missing the point of the movie. I do agree that a documentary version of Hogg's efforts really needs to be made, so that even more people can know the true history here, without the artistic embellishment. I also don't think that Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was really the best pick for portraying Hogg, as his pretty-boy looks somehow distracts from the character's believability, but his acting is touching nonetheless. The storytelling also does kind of move at a quick pace, and you really have to let what is being said here soak in through your eyes to your heart as it moves along -- that is, the realities of that era and being a child with no home or hope, which is what the story really is about. I think that these things are what has distracted the negative media reviewers from the beauty of the movie, unfortunately.
The story has very tragic points and I won't spoil them here. But I can say that during the final credits, some of the grown-up children that Hogg saved, give their thoughts on him and how he affected their lives, and what they feel they owe him. After the way the movie ends, combined with their sentiments, tears were a foregone conclusion for me and I don't cry at movies. Do see this film, if you are at all interested in Asian history, and children, and the inspiration of a life lived well, the way humans are meant to live -- in humble service to each other. I will definitely be purchasing this DVD when it's released and hopefully it will contain more backstory on Hogg and the children.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Long and Winding Road..., January 31, 2009
Chronicling the life of English journalist George Hogg during WWII, "The Children of Huang Shi" attempts to show the atrocities faced by the Chinese people during the Japanese occupation of the country in the early stages of the war.
Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is an ambitious (albeit naive), young journalist trying to get to Nanjing. Under the guise of a Red Cross worker, he gains entrance, but quickly finds out this assignment will test all of his survival skills. His journalist peer (David Wenham) is killed, Hogg is stranded in Nanjing with an extremely aggressive (and murderous) force of Japanese soldiers, and to top it off, he is captured with the evidence of the atrocious behavior of the Japanese (killing of innocent villagers-men, women and children).
It is only the fortuitous presence of a Chinese Nationalist (played with tremendous credibility by Chow Yun-Fat) that Hogg eventually escapes, making his way to an orphanage, partially looked after by Lee Pearsons (played with a lack of credibility by Radha Mitchell-a fine actress, but not her brightest hour). Befriending the boys-scared, lonely, starving, and diseased-isn't Hogg's easiest task, but he manages to convey a strong sense of self in the children, aided by Merchant Wang's (Michelle Yeoh) advice and supplies.
Upon learning of the Japanese army's advancement into the orphanage territory, and knowing the boys could be conscripted at any time, Hogg decides to make the dangerous, 700 mile trek through the famous `Silk Road' (of Marco Polo fame). This is where this epic film should have risen to the occasion, with grandeur and wide-angle scope, but there is a definite disconnection with the viewer of the hardship faced by Hogg, Lee, and the children. The time feels shortened and compressed during the most challenging portion of the film, and when Hogg succumbs to tetanus, one feels cheated.
"The Children of Huang Shi" had much potential, but fell a little flat overall. A 2.5 star effort, worth at least one viewing for a story many in the States are unaware of.
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