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33 Postcards Photos

Zhu Lin as Mei Mei and Guy Pearce as Dean Randall in "33 Postcards."

Guy Pearce as Dean Randall in "33 Postcards."

View All Photos (18)

Movie Info

A Chinese orphan (Zhu Lin) meets her longtime Australian sponsor (Guy Pearce) and discovers that he leads a far less idyllic life than his postcards to her suggest.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Pauline Chan
Producer:

Zhi Jiang Liu, Penny Carl-Nelson, Pauline Chan, Lesley Stevens
Writer:

Martin Edmond, Pauline Chan, Philip Dalkin
Release Date (Theaters):

May 17, 2013 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Dec 1, 2016
Runtime:

1h 37m
Production Co:

Zhejiang Hengdian Film Production, Portal Pictures

Cast & Crew

Guy Pearce
Dean Randall

Zhu Lin
Mei Mei

Claudia Karvan
Barbara

Elaine Jin
Miss Chen

Rhys Muldoon
Gary

Lincoln Lewis
Carl

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for 33 Postcards

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (11)

Innocence meets experience, unconvincingly, in the strained redemption drama "33 Postcards."

May 17, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Sheri Linden
Los Angeles Times
Were it not for the staccato bursts of violence, this Chinese-Australian co-production about how an adorable orphan brings love into the life of a hardened convict would feel like a film from Hayley Mills' heyday.

May 17, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Farran Smith Nehme
New York Post
It's all in the name of heartstring tugging, and the film, directed by Pauline Chan ("Little White Lies"), does that pretty well.

May 16, 2013 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
There's no explaining the presence of Guy Pearce in Pauline Chan's sappy, atonal family drama. But it's easy enough to understand why he looks so uncomfortable throughout.

May 16, 2013 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…

Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
A clunky hybrid-half feel-good weepie, half preposterous thriller-that functions primarily as an elaborate travel brochure ...

May 16, 2013 | Rating: C- | Full Review…

Mike D'Angelo
AV Club
Just when you think it can't get any more sentimental or tack on any more plot detours, the film attempts a clumsy cultural dtente as the Chinese children's choir sings "Waltzing Matilda."

May 15, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Rex Reed
Observer
Great Aussie crime thriller droops at the end but pulls through thanks to Guy Pearce.

May 27, 2013 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics
The "oh-so-innocent waif and big old baddie" odd-couple formula dates back to D.W. Griffith, but this muddled effort does nothing to merit its questionable revival.

May 17, 2013 | Full Review…

David Noh
Film Journal International
The film has a few good story turns up its sleeve, but prepare yourself for heavy melodrama in the third act.

May 16, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Jamie S. Rich
Oregonian
Sweet to the point of getting a sugar rush. Underwritten and under-directed in style and realization, it has all the substance of a confection.

May 16, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Touching story about how the spiritual practice of enthusiasm works wonders in the life of a man in prison.

May 15, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality & Practice
33 Postcards is merely the latest in a long line of films to throw in needless crime subplots as a way of shortcutting things emotionally.

May 14, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat