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Children of the Silk Road 2007
Based on a true story. New Zealander Rewi Alley was the actual hero, but in the film his British counterpart George Hogg takes the limelight. Alley was possibly written out for political reasons - he was a communist and rumoured to be gay.
Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Michelle Yeoh
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode ('Tomorrow Never Dies', 'The 6th Day')
Written by Jane Hawksley, James MacManus
Drama, True Story, Historical | 1hr 54mins | Rated (M) | Violence | Origin: Australia, China, Germany
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Flicks review
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In 1930s China, Brit journo George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) heads into the heart of the war with Japan. After almost being beheaded in Nanjing, he finds himself reluctantly babysitting a group of orphaned schoolboys in the mountains and falling for their nurse. As danger closes in, Hogg realises he must lead the children 700 miles to safety.
Directed with conviction by Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies) and shot in typically lush style by genius lensman Xiaoding Zhao (House Of Flying Daggers), this is undoubtedly sumptuous, immersive filmcraft. Meyers is at his best here - perfectly suited to the irksome gung ho character of Hogg at the start, visibly becoming more compassionate as things progress. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh also bring weight and class to the cast while the story weaves love, loyalty and wartime heroics together like a classic from Hollywood's golden age.
But while billed as a true tale (and featuring some of the surviving orphans talking over the end credits), The Children Of The Silk Road stretches the description. In reality, a New Zealander called Rewi Alley was the instigator and leader of the rescue, with Hogg alongside him. Alley has been written out of the proceedings, possibly for dubious political reasons (he was communist and rumoured to be gay). The nurse Hogg falls for was from New Zealand too, but here is played as an American by Radha Mitchell.
It's creative licence wielded like a cleaver - a real shame because taken on face value the film itself is superb. The fact that it didn't actually happen like this just gives it a sour aftertaste. An emotionally engaging adventure story told with eye-popping visual flair this remains, but a couple of Kiwis in their rightful places could have made it even better.
By Ashley Bird, Flicks.co.nz
The Peoples voice
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boring
1
just watched dvd Jonathan Rhys Meyers acting, as usual boring and wooden.
ejected half way thru like most movies these days soundtrack dramatic leaves "actual" drama for dead.By maggie
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i luv it ,,, really kool movie
5
just back off if someone says that its boring moive, i would say its a one of the touching movie falls under full of inspiration and emotion.
By dixtermate
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perfect,,awsome
5
i was crying till the end of the movie
By fadrick
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Bored me
3
One of those films that aims to be really inspirational, but is far too earnest and wooden. Plus, the fact that the NZer was cut out of it makes the 'true story' aspect hard to swallow. Dreary, is how I would desribe it. Unadventurous filmmaking. 3 stars only because of wide shots of Chinese landscape.
By Andy
Press Reviews
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Hollywood Reporter
Full of incident but nearly devoid of dramatic tension, The Children of Huang Shi is a based-on-fact saga that has lost much of its power on the long road to the screen.
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Los Angeles Times
If you can get past the Eurocentric focus, there are worse ways to pass the time than to see The Children of Huang Shi, if only because the glimpse into the time and place are captivating and the images are gorgeous.
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New York Times
Roger Spottiswoode directs with old-fashioned style, avoiding the saccharine with realistic depictions of a war-ravaged China (where he filmed) and a cast well versed in stiff-upper-lip.
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San Francisco Chronicle
You can be 100 percent in favor of rescuing adorable orphans from war-torn zones and still find The Children of Huang Shi a tough haul.
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 2 out of 5 stars
1/2 The Kiwi commie has been given the kybosh. It's a pity because the true story is even better than the movie one, and there's no good structural reason why a movie with two male heroes can't work. It's not that uncommon: John Huston made a memorable adventure in 1975 out of Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King, for example. The Killing Fields is another.
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Variety [USA]
Giving Jonathan Rhys Meyers the kind of manly yet paternal role Spencer Tracy once mastered, this carefully wrought international production relates the basic story of reporter George Hogg without any vibrancy, emotion or style.
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