I think it's easy to be critical of a movie but in the case of this one I have to give it the maximum latitude because of the story. It's too bad that the world isn't full of more people like George Hogg and his love for the children in a country that wasn't even his own. Whenever I feel down I watch this movie and it restores mine faith in humanity.

True story, except Wikipeda says the original author of this movie, James MacManus, said "His entry to China was February 1938. He did not go to Nanjing. The movie has been dramatized. It's not the fact."

I went with 3 1/2 stars for this movie beautiful views and it's based on a true story. One of me and my bf's movies we like I also own this movie I have seen this movie many times and I would watch this movie again. Sad at times but a good movie in my opinion it is worth at least one watch.

Review: I really enjoyed this emotional drama, and the fact that it's based on a true story, made the whole journey truly amazing. Its another one of those films were it needed some big names to play the main roles, because it needed someone who could have brought the intensity and emotion of the 1,000 kilometre track to the edge of the Mongolian desert. The little kids played there roles extremely well and the authenticity seemed extremely real and it was great to see Chow Yun-Fat (Jack) and Michelle Yeoh (Mrs. Wang) in the same film, even though they didn't have any scenes together. Jonathan Rhyl Meyers (George Hogg), put in a decent performance, alongside Radha Mitchell (Lee Pearson) but for a movie of this scale, it really needed someone who could push the boundaries, so you could feel how hard there journey really was. I did feel quite emotional when I saw the real kids, as grown ups, at the end but it did finish quite abruptly, which was slightly disappointing after watching these orphans travel so far. With that aside, I was still amazed with the story and the fact that these young children all pulled together to get to there destination. I'm glad that the director didn't delve into the whole love story element of the film because it would have taken away how important there journey really was. Anyway, I found this movie very entertaining, and it's part of Chinese history which needed to be brought out, into the open. Enjoyable! Round-Up: This movie really did make a massive lose at the box office, which is a shame because it really didn't deserve it. I personally didn't know anything about the film when it was released, so the studio didn't really push the distribution, even though they invested so much money into the project. Although Jonathan Rhys Meyers, 38, has starred in some decent films like Michael Collins, Misson Impossible III and Alexander, I still think that this movie was a bit too big for him at this stage of his career. He's not one that usually takes the lead in big budget movies so I personally would have chosen a more established actor. The movie was directed by Roger Spottiswoode, 71, who has made a range of movies like the Best of Times, Deadly Pursuit, Turner & Hooch, Air America, the terrible Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and Tomorrow Never Dies, and with 5 more movies in the pipeline, he's still going strong. I doubt that this film would damage his reputation, even though it made a heavy lose but I still think that this amazing story could be told with a A class cast and huge distribution. Budget: $40million Worldwide Gross: $8million I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/war movie starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and David Wenham. 7/10

Basada en una historia real, nos cuenta la historia de George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), un joven británico dedicado al periodismo que empezará a hacerse cargo de un grupo de 60 niños chinos huérfanos. Tendrá que asegurar, en plenos tiempos de guerra entre chinos y japoneses, de llevar a los niños a un lugar seguro, mientras se vuelve un verdadero maestro de la vida para los pequeños. Con las actuaciones de Radha Mitchell (Lee Pearson) y Yun Fat Chow (Jack Chen Hansheng)

I'm not sure why the rating was so low on this movie. I certainly felt it was worth 5 stars.

Muy buena película, fotografía impecable, muy emotiva, tensión al máximo, recomendadisimaaa!!!

Una de esas historias inspiradoras, correctamente contada aunque sin profundizar mucho en nada

I'm not British but Jonathan Rhys Meyers' English accent seems like it lilted in and out throughout the movie. Despite that, this is a great story about a guy who goes to China as a photojournalist and winds up caring for a group of boys in a rundown orphanage. He changes their lives and they wind up changing his. An inspiring, heart-wrenching story about how one person can make a big impact on others' lives.

A bit of a mess. http://superchicken46.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-children-of-huang-shi-2008-roger.html

Touching true story.

impressive movie! biographic story about war times in china and how man from completely different part of the world starts to take care of orphans in some abandoned school and how he makes difference in their lives!

A compelling story bogged down by a lackluster script and two lead performers who just aren't particularly good actors.

beautiful story... the ending was nicely done...

Un film qui nous touche par son infinis sagesse. Une histoire forte inspirée de faits réels, pas d artifice de tournage pour des images de toute beauté. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers est excellent, quel charisme et quelle présence ... Michelle Yeoh et Chow Yun-Fat donnent la réplique avec dans une ambiance parfois très sombre, parfois plus legere. Intemporel et apaisant, a voir sans une seule hésitation.

<div style="width:330px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/link/11291591"><img src="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/11291591.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">Flixster</a> - Share Movies</div></div> You have already seen my star. I like that move. At first, I don't want to watch because I think it's boring and not colourful. So I didn't take that movie when i went to the shop. But one thing is the cover. It was attracted by me because of the the actor(Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and two chinese actors and actress (Yun Fat & Michelle Yeoh) from Chroughing Tiger.Today, I went to the DVD shop and I did it. The story is so amazing. It's for me. I know everyone have different taste. Some may think it's boring. For me it's so moved and heart-crying. I respect their precious love to children. It's like gold. How can it be the one from other nation love and care and look after and find freedom for the orphanage until he dies. Eventhough he dies, he was happy and his life was meaningful. It's based on the true story. In the story, It's the war between china and japan. The Japanese controlled the China. At that time, a young unexperienced British journalist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) as George Hogg went to the city "Ling Nan" for getting news and photos of the war. Unfortunately, he was arrested and found guilt. So he will be killed but one chinese leader Yun Fat Chow as Hun Sein saved him. Because of him he met with the orphaned children... Overall, all the actors and all the plot are good. If you have the same feeling with me, you will absolutely like that movie.

Estraordinaria!! Historia real... la vida es dura pero con determinacion podemos logar lo que sea.

A terrific film about the late 1930's conflict between Japan and China. A British journalist finding purpose while saving 60 orphans from war-torn Huang Shi.

A very moving drama!

Informative movies like this with a few spoonfuls on sentimentality are definitely worthwhile.