SummaryBased on real events, The Children of Huang Shi is a sweeping but intimate story set against war-torn China in the 1930's. The film centers on a young English journalist, an American nurse and the leader of a Chinese partisan group who meet in desperate and unexpected circumstances. Together they rescue 60 orphaned children, leading them on an ex... Read More
Directed By:Roger Spottiswoode
Written By:Jane Hawksley, James MacManus, Simon van der Borgh
The Children of Huang Shi
Metascore
Mixed or Average
49
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
49
27% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
64% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
9% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
83
It radiates intelligence. Of how many historical epics can that be said these days?
63
What ought to be the pinnacle of the story - the orphans' odds-defying 500-mile march over snow-covered mountains toward the relative safety of the Mongolian desert - is shunted toward the end of the film and compressed to a near-footnote.
60
Roger Spottiswoode directs with old-fashioned style, avoiding the saccharine with realistic depictions of a war-ravaged China (where he filmed) and a cast well versed in stiff-upper-lip.
50
Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding manages some lovely images, and some of Spottiswoode’s compositions remind you he's capable of fine work. But Hogg never comes to life, on the page or on the screen.
50
Sometimes the most compelling real-life stories make better documentaries than dramas. Such would seem to be the case with The Children of Huang Shi.
40
Unfortunately, like so many movies that celebrate a historical hero, Children is plagued by an overblown sense of its own importance.
25
It's like "Schindler's List" crossed with "The Sound of Music," and Roger Spottiswoode directs it in a stiff, lifeless, utterly dated style of international squareness.
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.3
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Jan 4, 2015
9
Great history drama. Sheds a light on a China you don't get to see every day. People don't know much about this country, and especially about civil and Sino-Japanese war
Jan 25, 2019
8
i wouldnt call this a great movie but during this generation of marvel super hero movies, the definition of a hero has gotten muddled up. instead of a powerful hero with an ego problem, the protagonist here was a TRUE HERO, who went out of his way, put himself in danger,willing to sacrifice himself to rescue helpless strangers who were less fortunate. I feel that this movie has a great lesson to teach to people. a true hero isnt about kicking butts with his great power, nor sharing his vast fortune because he has everything; a true hero is about sacrificing oneself, even when he doesnt have much, to benefit others without asking for anything in return.
Production Company:
- Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)
- Ming Productions
- Bluewater Pictures
- Zero Fiction Film
- Cheerland Entertainment Organization
- Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Rouge Entertainment Group
- The Australian Film Commission
- Zero West Filmproduktion
Release Date:May 23, 2008
Duration:2 h 5 m
Rating:R
Tagline:War made them orphans, one man made them legends
Awards
Australian Film Institute
• 2 Nominations
APRA Screen Music Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Young Artist Awards
• 1 Nomination
