This is a quirky and touching movie about a sixteen year-old orphan from China, Mei-Mei, (played with pluck and naïveté by then newcomer Zhu Lin), who travels to Sydney, Australia with a children's choir and slips away to meet and thank the man whose financial donations sponsored her education; as important to her, her sponsor's steady stream of postcards about his perfect life provided her love, support and hope.
Her journey to find Dean Randall, (played by one of my screen favorites, Guy Pearce), is a surprising one. She learns that he is a convicted killer serving time in prison where he is up for parole, and the stories he wrote in his postcards were of a fantasy life. Dean is portrayed as being a sort of killer with a heart of gold, which was hard to swallow except for the fact that Guy Pearce is so likable.
The film passed quickly and gently. Mei-Mei and Dean form a bond, which he resists at first out of shame. It's a touching idea, however the screenplay was full of holes and the direction lacked finesse. The actors did the best they could in this production.
Her journey to find Dean Randall, (played by one of my screen favorites, Guy Pearce), is a surprising one. She learns that he is a convicted killer serving time in prison where he is up for parole, and the stories he wrote in his postcards were of a fantasy life. Dean is portrayed as being a sort of killer with a heart of gold, which was hard to swallow except for the fact that Guy Pearce is so likable.
The film passed quickly and gently. Mei-Mei and Dean form a bond, which he resists at first out of shame. It's a touching idea, however the screenplay was full of holes and the direction lacked finesse. The actors did the best they could in this production.