Children of the Silk Road

Bea says: Seen at the beautiful old cinema at Collaroy Beach in Sydney, we sat in the shelter of the surf lifesaving pavilion, drinking tea and watching the waves crash onto the beach in the rain of a Sydney winter before going in to see this film - but sadly the film was a bit of a disappointment, and sitting on the beach beforehand was easily the best part of this evening. Children of the Silk Road was Indiana Jones crossed with Dead Poets Society, with bad dialogue and wooden performances from the majority of the cast (excepting Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yuan who do their best to salvage things). A great idea that just went so wrong - jump cut, cliche-ridden and anodyne.
*1/2

Cecil says: Bea and I have often dreamt of travelling along the Silk Road - in fact just before we found this film listed, we had been discussing whether it would be possible to travel by train all along the Silk Route into South-East Asia. So the film, based on a true story of orphan kids and an English journalist in 1930s China seemed perfect for our mood and our future direction in life. Asd Bea says, though, it was very disappointing. For me, it was trying to be Lawrence of Arabia in its epic story and dramatic landscapes, but it only managed to be Jumanji, with its dreadful dialogue, wooden acting and special effects.

We had been led to believe by the Australian film reviewers that this was an Asian-Australian production. But the credits rolling as the film opened showed that it had a European connection and even had MEDIA programme funding from the EU. I'm not sure what the European input was: the end credits seemed to suggest the digital post-production was done in Germany - not a great advert for EU funding since the special effects and airbrushing of the main characters' looks (far too pretty and clean for such a gruelling and isolated experience) added nothing.

The incredible thing about this film is that it is based on a true story but it came across as so unreal. A morphine-addicted lead actress would never look that good; as Bea says, the dialogue was so unnatural, it became comical. It really made me wonder what makes a good screenplay? How do some films like Lawrence of Arabia, Year of Living Dangerously manage it, and this film so clearly not manage it.

In short: beautifully filmed, but very very disappointing in every other aspect.

*1/2