THE film, The Children of Huang Shi, has something for everyone. Action, romance and stunning (???) camerawork combine to make this a hugely enjoyable film.
However, the storyline is also tinged (?……??) with sadness. It follows British journalist George Hogg as he lands in China looking for the true meaning of freedom. After the Japanese invade, everywhere he goes he sees China in crisis (??), a beautiful country torn apart by war.
ogg takes pictures of Japanese troops shooting a group of Chinese peasants. The soldiers find his camera and try to kill him. Just as he is about to have his head cut off with a samurai sword (???), Hogg is rescued by Chen Hansheng (Chow Yun-Fat), a Chinese resistance (??) fighter.
how is well-known to both Chinese and Western audiences and he is a key factor in the film’s attraction.
et Chow is not the real hero. This role belongs jointly to Hogg and the children he is sent to look after in a remote orphanage (???). As he cannot speak Chinese, Hogg has a hard time at first – his name translates into Chinese as “Zhu” meaning pig, so when he introduces himself the children all laugh at him.
hen he is on the edge of despair (??), Australian nurse Lee Pearson walks in to lighten his life. She gives him the strength to continue and the couple act like a mother and father to the abandoned children. Hogg teaches them English while Pearson heals (??) their wounds, both internal and external.
hen the Japanese threaten to arrest Hogg and send the children to work in the countryside, the two Westerners decide they must lead the children to safety in northwest China.
Watching the group grow closer as they help each other through the hard times is very touching. You might think the way the Chinese accept Hogg and the way he helps them is unrealistic. But at the end of the film, you hear some of the survivors of the journey speak about their experience. The Children of Huang Shi is a true story. It is also a truly remarkable film.

Tags: australian nurse, beautiful country, chinese peasants, chow yun fat, japanese troops, meaning of freedom, samurai sword, western audiences

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