Critic Reviews

In observing the reality of this relationship, Wang contemplates the "generation gap" in modern societies all over the world. His film quietly, carefully, movingly observes how these two people of the same blood will never be able to understand each other, and the younger one won't even care to.

A spare, controlled study in communication gaps and a piercing sketch of suburban American loneliness.

Rich in revealing detail and apt in its use of everyday Spokane settings, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers shows that Wang remains a master explorer of the landscape of the human heart.

An intelligent look at family dynamics set in a boring Washington State suburb where Bible-thumping Mormons come knocking on your door.

Wang's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers gives the impression of a director reborn, or at least a director who has his mojo back.

Has a jangly, improvisational tone, with nuanced moments of humor and pathos.

The movie is almost willfully dull, for its real subject is everything we never say to our parents, or they to us.

Modest but moving, a finely observed portrait of a father/daughter relationship that will resonate deeply for many viewers.

There's nothing earth-shattering going on here, but it's a film you'll want to befriend.

A gentle, pleasantly unrushed piece of moviemaking. There’s a tonic simplicity to how it gets the job done, and if the film comes off as fairly conventional stuff, it nevertheless succeeds on its own modest, middlebrow terms.