Despite good performances from Ingrid Bergman and a very interesting first half, the bloated screenplay and "Hollywood" second half make this movie disappointing overall. Ingrid gives a solid performance, but her accent is distracting. She's supposed to be playing a British woman, and she attempts the accent in the first few scenes, but then gives up entirely. And also miscast is Robert Donat as the Chinese leader of her village. And what happened to the character of Ingrid's love interest? He never reappears at the end of the movie and you aren't told what happened to him.
I can't help thinking how much better Meryl Streep would be in this role-- at least her accent would have been impeccable.
The story parallels that of the Exodus from Egypt, and since the protagonist is a missionary, that parallel should have been emphasized more clearly, the way it was done masterfully in "Shakespeare in Love".
At the end, the "Hollywood-ization" of the movie has completely taken over, and Ingrid and the children perch at the top of a mountain, looking at the "promised land" (the Yellow River) and smiling and pointing. Never mind that these kids are starving and exhausted and probably near death (in real life)-- they smile and point just the way the director told them to.
They don't make movies like this anymore-- even in Hollywood-- and thank God for that.
I can't help thinking how much better Meryl Streep would be in this role-- at least her accent would have been impeccable.
The story parallels that of the Exodus from Egypt, and since the protagonist is a missionary, that parallel should have been emphasized more clearly, the way it was done masterfully in "Shakespeare in Love".
At the end, the "Hollywood-ization" of the movie has completely taken over, and Ingrid and the children perch at the top of a mountain, looking at the "promised land" (the Yellow River) and smiling and pointing. Never mind that these kids are starving and exhausted and probably near death (in real life)-- they smile and point just the way the director told them to.
They don't make movies like this anymore-- even in Hollywood-- and thank God for that.