A captivating and engrossing drama brimming with genuine warmth and tenderness as well as a charismatic, radiant and heartfelt performance by newcomer Pham Thi Han.
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05/30/09
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Owl and the Sparrow (2008)
81
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:13
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.1/10
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jan 16, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: This Vietnamese drama offers a rich panorama of urban life in Saigon. In particular, OWL AND THE SPARROW tells the story of a 10-year-old runaway who helps a stewardess connect with a lovelorn... [More]
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Reviews for Owl and the Sparrow
1 - 16 (sorted by date)
A pleasant change of pace to see a film set in Saigon which isn't a high body-count splatter flick about the ravages of the war in Indochina. Worthwhile if only for the reminder that the Vietnamese are people, too!
05/30/09
By taking a fairly unromantic approach to the standard strangers-meet-in-a-cold-world premise, writer-director Stephane Gauger crafts a lovely, lovelorn fable.
05/29/09
Top CriticOwl and the Sparrow is a beautifully com posed romance from Vietnam.
05/29/09
Top CriticStephane Gauger's debut feature, Owl and the Sparrow, is a charming little movie, nothing more.
05/29/09
Top CriticAn enchanting story of a homeless girl on the streets of Saigon who has a big heart and a yearning to be accepted for who she is.
05/29/09
Sentimental without being cloying, the film is a charmer, just like the gravely wide-eyed Pham.
05/28/09
Owl and the Sparrow is yet one more film that preaches the importance of opening your heart and reaching out to those around you, but that treacly sentiment is nicely undercut by the unvarnished naturalness of the actors.
05/27/09
Top CriticA simple Vietnamese story well told, one that evokes images of Truffaut and Panahi.
05/23/09
A strangely overdone finalé, complete with surging musical crescendos and tears, rings false, given the earnest and unsentimental qualities exhibited elsewhere in Gauger's script and direction.
03/06/09
Top CriticThe principal actors all do a nice job, but a special commendation goes to young Han, a Saigon resident with some experience onstage.
02/13/09
Top CriticThe movie doesn't play as saccharine as it sounds, but gentle sentimentality runs this show nonetheless.
01/30/09
... a slice of relatively uneventful life in Vietnam. ... I never cared about any of the characters or about the predictable story.
01/22/09
Hypnotic, heartfelt character study at its gentlest and most charming. I was so enrapt in this tale of a little girl and the new family she finds that my natural cynicism didn't stand a chance.
01/18/09
Smartly balancing earnest sentiment with an unvarnished look at contemporary Vietnamese life, [Director Stephane] Gauger deftly bridges cultural, emotional and artistic barriers while remaining true to a uniquely Asian aesthetic.
01/16/09
What [director] Gauger has created is a quietly affecting fairy tale.
01/16/09
Top Critic1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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February 10, 2009:
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