Movie Review

Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story (2007)

Reviewed by Scott Brown | Jan 24, 2007

Scott Brown

Scott Brown writes the Hit List for EW and is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio -- he has the tote bag to prove it

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EW's GRADE

B-

Details Limited Release: Jan 12, 2007; Rated: Unrated; Length: 85 Minutes; Genre: Documentary

$IL WIND Yokota\'s kidnapping and long disappearance is at the center of the documentary Abduction, a story clouded by the... | Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story$

IL WIND Yokota's kidnapping and long disappearance is at the center of the documentary Abduction, a story clouded by the chilly, complex history betweeen Japan and North Korea

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It's a tall order, tackling an international kidnapping crisis and 60 years' worth of Japanese-North Korean relations in an 85-minute documentary. So Abduction doesn't even try, instead telling the tale of Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old Japanese girl whisked off by Kim Jong Il's spies on her way to school in 1977. For 20 years, Megumi's family doesn't know where she is; when they find out, the frustrations and uncertainties only mount. But as thickets of history and culture are (too) neatly avoided, the viewer is also left in the dark.

Originally posted Jan 24, 2007 Published in issue #918-919 Feb 02, 2007 Order article reprints

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