A refreshingly small, delicate picture.
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09/26/08
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A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)
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Reviews Counted:35
Fresh:27
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.
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,... [More]
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Reviews for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Sensitively explores the chilly reunion of a Chinese father and his American daughter who dance around a divisive family secret.
09/18/08
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers feels like a fragile wafer of a movie, but it fills you like a three-course meal.
10/17/08
Top CriticWang's approach is measured and restrained, his shots simple and immaculate, the emotional stakes deepening scene by scene. It's a miniature gem.
11/06/08
Top CriticBoth a departure and a welcome return to form for Wang as an indie auteur, a beautiful and incredibly moving story of real life relationships that exudes subtlety and self-control in a refreshing way.
09/18/08
An intensely observed, small-scale family drama involving disagreement between generations.
10/09/08
Top CriticA Chinese father visiting his Americanized daughter in Washington finds communication difficult, but the film offers rewards for the patient.
10/14/08
Wang's new film suggests not only a return to form but also the revival of an old theme from his early Asian-American dramedies: the different ways that certain generations translate and adapt their cultural heritage
08/08/09
This modest and lovely film is a welcome reprieve after the explosion-filled slate of summer movies.
09/26/08
Top CriticIt's a short story of a movie: delicate, modest, beautifully observed.
11/07/08
There's nothing earth-shattering going on here, but it's a film you'll want to befriend.
09/17/08
Top CriticAs in most of Wang's films, a memorable cast of characters compensates for a serviceable plot.
12/16/08
Top CriticThis 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.
11/14/08
[Wayne] Wang's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers gives the impression of a director reborn, or at least a director who has his mojo back after closely studying the masterpieces of family life by Edward Yang and Yasujiro Ozu.
09/25/08
Both culturally specific and achingly universal, Wayne Wang’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers contemplates the ravages of time and distance -- physical, emotional and cultural -- on a parent-child relationship.
09/17/08
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a gentle, pleasantly unrushed piece of moviemaking.
09/19/08
Top CriticTouching look at a father's and daughter's strained relationship as they struggle through gaps of culture, language, gender, and historical context.
11/01/08
A quiet work with Ozu-like structure and concerns, but remains more an intellectual exercise than one from the heart.
10/18/08
Top CriticSincere and dignified to a fault, it feels like a shrink-wrapped version of a more penetrating study.
09/19/08
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.
10/18/08
Latest News for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
September 16, 2008:
Wayne Wang Gets Personal With New Films 
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
More...
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