George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors), was working in bustling and luxurious Shanghai during the time that China was occupied by Japan, although Shanghai had been left untouched by the occupation. He, along with his journalist friends, desperately wanted to get deeper into the occupied territory, to get the real story and capture it on film. Since Japan had not actually declared war on China, no traditional war-time rules applied and all sorts of travesties and horrors were supposedly happening to the "prisoners," but it was too unsafe for journalists to get in, so they were not allowed. Obviously, Japan didn't want their deeds captured on film.
Through a deal with a Red Cross worker who would rather stay home and marry his sweetheart, Hogg acquires a Red Cross delivery truck filled with medical supplies, along with the job of making those deliveries right into the explosive action. Along for the ride are two fellow journalists, one a close friend and one a Chinese stow-away hiding among the supplies in the back. After a near-miss with Chinese soldiers, they arrive, only to go their separate ways. Hogg immediately begins snapping pictures of what he sees, although quietly and sneakily. From a destroyed building, he sees a band of Japanese soldiers corralling a large group of Chinese and then brutally executing them all. Terrified, he captures the entire event on film, only to be discovered and captured by those same Japanese. Although he speaks fluent Japanese and is charming with the commander, once they see the pictures, he is brought out for beheading (which is a favorite execution method for the Japanese apparently), only to be rescued by a Chinese resistance leader, Chen Hansheng (Chow Yun-Fat, Crouching Tiger) and his band of men - and right in the nick of time. Sadly, his fellow journalists aren't so lucky. While with this group of men, he is cared for by a lovely Australian nurse named Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell, Silent Hill), who later brings him to an orphanage filled with boys whose families have been killed as a result of the Japanese occupation. At first, the boys resent him and try to cause him harm, especially the oldest boy, who has made himself the leader of the younger boys. Hogg wants nothing more than to get back out there and capture the story. But he soon finds that it is in this isolated orphanage that the true story of the war lies.
Lee floats back to the orphanage from time to time as she makes her way around the countryside, caring for the injured Chinese resistance and bringing medicine and supplies, and as they come into contact again and again, Hogg and Lee fall in love. Meanwhile, Hogg makes incredible strides with the boys, teaching them English and showing them how to grow their own food and become self-sustaining. The orphanage is finally thriving, but this causes it to pop up on the military's radar as a possible place they could take over for use in their battle against the Japanese. Hogg defies them and is again imprisoned. This time, Hogg and Lee's dear friend Mrs. Wang (Michelle Yeoh, Crouching Tiger), an opium and medicine dealer, comes to his aid although through great personal costs of which Hogg is never made aware. Once released, he realizes the orphanage is no longer safe and vows to take the children to a far more remote locale, where they can live in peace until the occupation ends. Unfortunately, this location is some 500 miles away, across a frozen mountain. Its a suicide mission, but one that Lee, Hogg, Chen and the boys are willing to take. Their journey of determination, love and survival is amazing.
While the film and acting are excellent, one of the most moving parts is during the end credits where actual residents of the orphanage at Huang Shi speak lovingly about Hogg and their experiences with him. Seeing these now quite old men talk about their childhood and how Hogg literally saved their lives is really touching. There's also a nice making-of featurette which talks about how tough it was to make this movie simply because the director and main stars spoke English and all of the children spoke only Chinese.
Prior to seeing this film, I had never heard of this amazing man and his incredible love and protection for these children in this foreign land. Do yourself a favor and see this movie. It is fantastic. Plus, its nice to see Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a nice guy instead of the randy and cruel Henry VIII.
