Movie Review

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2008)

Reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum | Sep 24, 2008

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Lisa Schwarzbaum is a film critic for EW

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Limited Release: Sep 19, 2008; Rated: Unrated; Length: 83 Minutes; Genres: Drama, Romance; With: Vida Ghahremani, Henry O and Feinhong Yu

$AMEN Faye Yu and Henry O star in director Wayne Wang\'s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers | A Thousand Years of Good Prayers$

AMEN Faye Yu and Henry O star in director Wayne Wang's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

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Hong Kong-born director Wayne Wang made his name with quirky, observant films rooted in Chinese culture like Chan Is Missing and Eat a Bowl of Tea before Hollywood lured him into Styrofoam projects like Maid in Manhattan (2002). So his return to personal form is welcome. Based on a story by Yiyun Li about an elderly man from Beijing (Henry O) who comes to the U.S. to visit his grown businesswoman daughter (Faye Yu), A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a spare, controlled study in communication gaps and a piercing sketch of suburban American loneliness. B+

Originally posted Sep 24, 2008 Published in issue #1014 Oct 03, 2008 Order article reprints

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