Fresh
As in most of Wang's films, a memorable cast of characters compensates for a serviceable plot.
Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
2007 · 1h 23m · Unrated
Drama
Directed by
Wayne Wang
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A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Overview
The film follows Mr. Shi, a retired widower from Beijing. When his only daughter, Yilan, who lives in Spokane, Washington and works as a librarian, gets divorced, he decides to visit her to help her heal. However, Yilan is not interested. She tries keeping an emotional distance but when this finally fails she begins physically avoiding her father. He confronts her about an affair with a married Russian man and she, in turn, lets loose about all the gossip she'd heard as a young girl about his alleged affair with a female colleague back in China.
Director and cast
- Wayne Wang Director
- Henry O as Mr. Shi
- Yu Feihong as Yilan
- Vida Ghahremani as Madame
- Pasha D. Lychnikoff as Boris
- Jared Wagner as Airport Greeter
- Megan Albertus as Forensics Girl
- Wes Deitrick as Antique Owner
- Ryan Sanson as Plane Passenger
- Patrick Treadway as Homeless Man
- Angela Dierdorff Petro as Maggie
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
79%
Tomatometer
Fresh
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.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Fresh
Wang's approach is measured and restrained, his shots simple and immaculate, the emotional stakes deepening scene by scene. It's a miniature gem.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Rotten
A quiet work with Ozu-like structure and concerns, but remains more an intellectual exercise than one from the heart.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
Fresh
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers feels like a fragile wafer of a movie, but it fills you like a three-course meal.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
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