Directed by
Roger Spottiswoode
125 minutes
Rated M
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
Children Of The Silk Road
Synopsis: George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a journalist in China in the 1930s. The country is torn by civil war and the Japanese have invaded. Hogg heads to Nanking for a story opportunity and after witnessing a dreadful massacre of locals by the Japanese he is captured and interrogated. As he is about to be executed, Hogg is rescued by resistance fighter, Jack (Chow Yun Fat), and helped to recuperate in a hospital run by American nurse, Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell) who suggests he further recover in a remote village. There Hogg finds himself in an orphanage with 60 grubby abandoned boys and only one carer. He becomes an inspiration and leader to the boys but must flee again as the Japanese approach. And so begins a monumental trek through mountains and desert to get the boys to safety.This is an inspiring and fascinating true story, and a monument exists today in the town of Shandan to the memory of George Hogg. All the characters are interesting – a naïve and gung-ho young journalist, a fearless dedicated nurse, a handsome partisan and a bunch of orphaned kids – what more could you want placing such characters, the intimacy of romance, and the epic events of the time into a gripping story. Unfortunately something goes awry with this production, although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what. The script is certainly bedevilled with plot clichés aplenty – in fact so much is predictable that there is an unavoidable plodding feel to what should be a really uplifting and inspiring tale.
Plodding and uninspired are also the words I would use for Rhys Meyer’s performance. He seems far more suited to the role of a suave type as he played in Match Point than to the adventuring Hogg. Radha Mitchell is one of my favourite contemporary actors but again she seems just a little out of place in this role. Even Chow, normally so imposing, seems a bit lost – perhaps it all has something to do with the director not giving them a firm enough guide as to their characters. The ever-elegant Michelle Yeoh in the role of Madame Wang, a wheeler dealer merchant, seems the only true stand out, although of course the kids are appealing.
Children Of The Silk Road certainly looks good, with many fabulous locations in China being used, from the amazing Gobi desert (with its even more amazing Bactrian camels) to the spectacular mountains near Lanzhou. And so it should, with Zhao Xiaoding (Curse of the Golden Flower, House of Flying Daggers) as cinematographer.
It’s a shame I can’t rave more about this film, as I was certainly intruiged by the story, found myself generally entertained, and at times had my heart-strings tugged. It’s just that what could have been great has settled for the mediocre.
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