|
The Children of Huang Shi
a.k.a. “Children of the Silk Road,” “Escape from Huang Shi” MPAA Rating:
 for some disturbing and violent contentReview coming from Contributor: Larry Barber _____
Moviemaking Quality:
_____
Primary Audience:
Adults
Genre:
War, Drama, History
Length:
1 hr. 54 min.
Year of Release:
2008
USA Release:
May 23, 2008 (6 theaters, exclusive NYC/LA)
“Based on a true story” Producer’s Synopsis: “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 (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) 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 (Chow Yun Fat), the leader of a Chinese partisan group who becomes his closest friend. He soon finds himself falling in love with Lee (Radha Mitchell), a recklessly brave Australian adventurer whom war has turned into an unsentimental nurse on horseback. Along the way Hogg befriends Madame Wang (Michelle Yeoh), 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.”
Volunteer reviewer needed for this movie—Request this assignment See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Movie Critics
“…an engrossing story of a remarkable man, but nevertheless it's underwhelming. Dramatic and romantic tension never coil very tightly, as the film settles into a contented pace. The photography is awesome…” “…It's an odd thing, the way Hollywood can take a true story and make it ring false.…it doesn't exactly hurt to watch it, but the clichés are undeniably painful.” “…historical drama as clichéd as they come… hackneyed dialogue, spotty performances and plodding chase sequences…” |
E-mail this page to a friend
