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Movies / On DVD / A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

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A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 26

Rotten:8

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Consensus: Though it may not be as profound as its pacing would suggest, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers delicately examines familial issues in an earnest fashion.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 19, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: After working on mainstream Hollywood comedies such as MAID IN MANHATTAN and THE LAST HOLIDAY, director Wayne Wang returns to independent dramas with A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS. In this film,... After working on mainstream Hollywood comedies such as MAID IN MANHATTAN and THE LAST HOLIDAY, director Wayne Wang returns to independent dramas with A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS. In this film, Mr. Shi (Henry O) comes to the United States to see his divorced daughter, Yilan (Faye Yu). Mr. Shi soon discovers that it wasn't just age and the distance separating him from his daughter, and he tries to learn more about Yilan, despite her best efforts. [More]

Starring: Faye Yu, Henry O, Vida Ghahremani, Pasha Lychnikoff

Starring: Faye Yu, Henry O, Vida Ghahremani, Pasha Lychnikoff

Director: Wayne Wang

Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Yiyun Li
Producer: Yukie Kito, Rich Cowan, Wayne Wang
Composer: Lesley Barber
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

May 26, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 2.0 - English, Mandarin
  • Subtitles - Spanish
 
 
 
 

Reviews for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Well-written, beautifully shot, and meticulously acted

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/30/09
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

As in most of Wang's films, a memorable cast of characters compensates for a serviceable plot.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/16/08
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A keenly observed portrait of a parent and child estranged by geography, language, ideology and generation. In other words, a universal story of family in the age of globalization.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/20/08
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a nice, quietly heartwarming film. The tone really got through to me. I never laughed out loud, but always had a steady grin. Charming.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
11/14/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

It's a short story of a movie: delicate, modest, beautifully observed.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/07/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Wang's approach is measured and restrained, his shots simple and immaculate, the emotional stakes deepening scene by scene. It's a miniature gem.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/08
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A lovely film of small intentions, yet embellished with an enormous heart.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
11/06/08
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

Touching look at a father's and daughter's strained relationship as they struggle through gaps of culture, language, gender, and historical context.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
11/01/08
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com

A quiet work with Ozu-like structure and concerns, but remains more an intellectual exercise than one from the heart.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The minor key and quietly observational work is not earth-shattering or particularly urgent, though it enables a talented filmmaker to work through personal ideas about assimilation and family conflict in an open, smart and gracious way.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Patrick Z. McGavin
Screen International

Meticulously paced and beautifully shot.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
10/18/08
Kim Voynar
Cinematical

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers feels like a fragile wafer of a movie, but it fills you like a three-course meal.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/17/08
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A Chinese father visiting his Americanized daughter in Washington finds communication difficult, but the film offers rewards for the patient.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/14/08
Bruce Feld
Film Journal International

An intensely observed, small-scale family drama involving disagreement between generations.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/09/08
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The emptiness felt by Yiyun Li's characters doesn't seem as much the result of an emotional void than a too-thin plot.

Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment Comment
10/03/08
Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper

A Thousand Years is imbued with these melancholy images, but it may leave you longing for a story to make you care.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/03/08
Neely Tucker
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s a mildly poignant generation-gap story.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
09/26/08
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Rich in revealing detail and apt in its use of everyday Spokane settings, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers shows that Wang remains a master explorer of the landscape of the human heart.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/26/08
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Wang seems to be trying for the reflective silence and emotionally fraught familial relationships of a Yasujiro Ozu film, but his characters are too underdeveloped to support the weight of such expectations.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/08
Tasha Robinson
AV Club
 
 
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Latest News for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

September 16, 2008: Wayne Wang Gets Personal With New Films Opens in new window
After making a detour into middle-of-the-road studio fare, director Wayne Wang has moved back into what he calls "smaller, more personal" films, including the just-released "A... More...

August 20, 2008: Trailer & Poster Review Opens in new window
More...

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