Children Of The Silk Road - Review

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Based on a true story, Children Of The Silk Road tells the story of George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an intrepid young reporter who led sixty Chinese orphans on an incredible journey across the snowy Liu Pan Shan mountains to the safety of the Mongolian desert to escape the perils of World War II.

From the opening scenes, where we see Hogg bluff his way into a war-ravaged town by pretending he's a Red Cross aid worker, it is immediately obvious that he is a determined, if somewhat naive, adventurer who is prepared to risk life and limb for the right story. And risk life and limb he does; we meet Chen, the leader of a Chinese partisan group (Chow Yun Fat) while awaiting the fall of an executioner's sword across Hogg's outstretched neck - punishment for taking revealing photos of Japanese soldiers slaughtering local civilians. With the help of Chen and Radha Mitchell's brave nurse Lee Pearson, Hogg finds himself the sole carer of 60 orphaned children living in a dilapidated orphanage. Told by Pearson he must feed and clothe the children while she continues her three-month round trip delivering medical supplies, Hogg reluctantly accepts the assignment and slowly returns the orphanage to a functioning and habitable state.

The children are appropriately diverse: one is rebellious, another is friendly and eager to learn, and the rest adequately, if a little conveniently, fill the various roles of a Chinese war-time Brady Bunch, family goat included.
When the war edges dangerously close to their mountain hideaway, Hogg decides to relocate the children to the edge of the Mongolian desert, a mere 500 miles away, where there is so little worth bombing that they would be in less danger.

The film starts with some great war action, and the depiction of Hogg's familiarisation with his new surroundings and housemates is both intrigung and endearing. But the journey across the mountains, which took some three or more months in real life, seems to fly by as if it were nothing more than a week-long camping trip.

The lead actors all put in fantastic performances; Rhys Meyers' ballsy Oxford scholar is subtle but likeable, providing a little comic relief at his own expense; Mitchell plays her troubled nurse with sensitivity, although her accent can at times be a little irritating (I couldn't decide if she was supposed to be Australian or American); and Chow Yun Fat is excellent as the reliably brave and stoic Chen.

While the story, whether historically accurate or not, is one of incredible determination and bravery, the film is not. It has all the hallmarks of an epic that had been over-trimmed, there were a few plot points that came out of nowhere, and there was far more impetus on the formation of the relationship between Hogg and the children than there was on the journey itself. It would have been a hard film to make and Roger Spottiswoode did a reasonable job with making it a widely viewable experience. It is visually stunning and the actors perfomed well for their director, but Spottiswoode probably would have been grateful for an extra hour to tell the full story.

Overall, Children Of The Silk Road was an enjoyable if unfulfilling experience. It would get a top 10 postion in my Queue.