Children of Huang Shi (2008)
The story takes us to 1938. The young British journalist George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) came to China to cover the Japanese invasion of the country. Already in China, Hogg witness firsthand the brutality of the Japanese imperial army toward civilians, he decides to stay in the country and help the most vulnerable. After escaping death with the help of Jack Chen (Chow Yun Fat), one of the leaders of the communist resistance, Hogg took refuge in the orphanage in Huang Shi, where with the help of the nurse Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell) will become a teacher, teaching children. Over the months, and the threat of war arrive at the orphanage, Hogg decided to take an incredible march of over 1000 kilometers through China, at the head of the 60 orphans of Huang Shi, to safeguard them by moving them to a remote haven inside the country.
Children of Huang Shi is one of those stories based on real facts, a priori, have all the elements necessary to become a great movie. In this case, the original story offered characters who are perfectly the kind of "real heroes" and staged a touching story of personal and human values, all with the backdrop of a war drama with hints of war epic set in Sino-Japanese. Given this, it is quite telling that the most notable aspects of this film is reduced to the setting and scenery. The narrative possibilities offered by the original story have not been even remotely exploited by the film, and this is due to several reasons. The former can be found in the poor choice of distribution. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does not seem the most suitable actor to give life to the devoted Hogg, and its interpretation, apart from stiff and expressionless, not at all credible. Neither co-star, actress Radha Mitchell , manages to convey much with her role as nurse sacrificed, and the more toned as interpreters, the Chinese actor Chow Yun Fat , it is unfortunate that his character - I could have given more of himself, to stay in a very schematic and secondary level.
Apart from the above, the minimum that can be ordered a film based on a story of personal and human values \u200b\u200bexcited, which the film tries, without success. Lack dramatic intensity in too many scenes, especially the story of the grueling feat of marching through the mountains, which is told in a flat and dispassionate so that the end is totally blurred. And above all, the worst thing is that the film barely touch the viewer, which has much to do the very vigorous implementation of the experience at the director Roger Spottiswide . If they will join the subplots that are introduced in the story are entirely unsubstantiated, especially trying to show Hogg love triangle between Chen and the nurse, it is understood that after watching two hours of footage, the viewer is left with the feeling of being in a failed title in more than one aspect.
Ultimately, Children of Huang Shi is a typical example of uninspired film that misses the wonderful story base, moving to a clumsy screen adaptation of it. A pity, because these willows, in the hands of a writer and a more experienced director could have led to a great movie. In the end, a product is passable and fairly entertaining, but in general terms, disappointed.
Rating: 4 / 10