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.
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09/26/08
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A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)
77
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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
This modest and lovely film is a welcome reprieve after the explosion-filled slate of summer movies.
09/26/08
A refreshingly small, delicate picture.
09/26/08
Without much progress or revelation in the plot, this is a case where slow and steady doesn't always win the race.
09/25/08
[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
A spare, controlled study in communication gaps and a piercing sketch of suburban American loneliness.
09/24/08
Top CriticWang's direction is nuanced, and while A Thousand Years of Good Prayers isn't his best work, it is light years ahead of his Hollywood output.
09/19/08
There's a gentle beauty in these long, anguished silences, and Wang and his actors make the most of it.
09/19/08
Sincere and dignified to a fault, it feels like a shrink-wrapped version of a more penetrating study.
09/19/08
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a gentle, pleasantly unrushed piece of moviemaking.
09/19/08
Wang fails to integrate the philosophy of Li's fiction into the action of the story.
09/18/08
Sensitively explores the chilly reunion of a Chinese father and his American daughter who dance around a divisive family secret.
09/18/08
Both 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
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
There's nothing earth-shattering going on here, but it's a film you'll want to befriend.
09/17/08
Modest in the least engaging sense of the term.
09/14/08
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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