The Children of Huang Shi
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode
The image of an abandoned schoolhouse overrun with war orphans, whose flea-ridden appearance almost masks the precocious, doe-eyed kids underneath, is an apt metaphor for Roger Spottiswoode’s The Children of Huang Shi, a film whose gorgeous cinematography and endearing subject matter almost mask its mediocrity.
The film is based on the true story of George Hogg, a young English journalist who travels to Japanese-occupied Shanghai in 1938, eager to cover the war. After being captured by the Japanese, Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is saved by a Chinese guerrilla resistance group led by Chen “Jack” Hansheng (Chow Yun Fat). After escaping a second Japanese attack, Hogg wakes up wounded in a field hospital under the care of Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell), a tough American nurse and instantly recognizable love interest. Chen and Lee send Hogg off to recuperate in a place called Huang Shi, where he discovers 60 orphaned boys living in an abandoned schoolhouse without supervision. After a perfunctory period of resistance, Hogg warms up to the children, and eventually treks with them through the Gobi Desert to escape from the approaching Japanese army.
It’s not hard to see why Spottiswoode was drawn to George Hogg’s story: One of the film’s few highlights is actual footage of the Huang Shi boys, now old men, speaking about Hogg’s effect on their lives. Unfortunately, the curiosity and originality of these interviews is nowhere to be found in James MacManus and Jane Hawksley’s script, which turns the story into something we’ve seen before.
The real star of Huang Shi is the cinematographer, Zhao Xiaoding, who was a camera operator on the breathtaking epic Hero and director of photography on House of Flying Daggers. The cinematographer’s talents are not wasted: In fact, they’re a saving grace for this dull picture, offering something beautiful to look at while we wish we were more interested.
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode
The image of an abandoned schoolhouse overrun with war orphans, whose flea-ridden appearance almost masks the precocious, doe-eyed kids underneath, is an apt metaphor for Roger Spottiswoode’s The Children of Huang Shi, a film whose gorgeous cinematography and endearing subject matter almost mask its mediocrity.
The film is based on the true story of George Hogg, a young English journalist who travels to Japanese-occupied Shanghai in 1938, eager to cover the war. After being captured by the Japanese, Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is saved by a Chinese guerrilla resistance group led by Chen “Jack” Hansheng (Chow Yun Fat). After escaping a second Japanese attack, Hogg wakes up wounded in a field hospital under the care of Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell), a tough American nurse and instantly recognizable love interest. Chen and Lee send Hogg off to recuperate in a place called Huang Shi, where he discovers 60 orphaned boys living in an abandoned schoolhouse without supervision. After a perfunctory period of resistance, Hogg warms up to the children, and eventually treks with them through the Gobi Desert to escape from the approaching Japanese army.
It’s not hard to see why Spottiswoode was drawn to George Hogg’s story: One of the film’s few highlights is actual footage of the Huang Shi boys, now old men, speaking about Hogg’s effect on their lives. Unfortunately, the curiosity and originality of these interviews is nowhere to be found in James MacManus and Jane Hawksley’s script, which turns the story into something we’ve seen before.
The real star of Huang Shi is the cinematographer, Zhao Xiaoding, who was a camera operator on the breathtaking epic Hero and director of photography on House of Flying Daggers. The cinematographer’s talents are not wasted: In fact, they’re a saving grace for this dull picture, offering something beautiful to look at while we wish we were more interested.
