Critic Reviews

Superb documentary.

Brilliant documentary.

Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right: You can't go home again

Honest and unflinching, Daughter From Danang isn't always pleasant to watch, but it is powerful and memorable.

That commendable sense of balance, which Dolgin and Franco use to approach this family reunion, ultimately makes the finished product devastating.

An intelligent, well-observed and ineffably poignant study of an Amerasian woman's attempt to trace her roots by journeying back to Vietnam.

Devastating in part because it's so chillingly familiar.

The film's almost unbearable portrait of sadness and grief transcends its specific story to speak to the ways in which need, history and presumption tangle, and sometimes destroy, blood ties.

Once Kim and Heidi finally meet, it becomes something much more complex: a gripping drama of culture clash and familial responsibility that also serves as a stinging metaphor for U.S. involvement in Third World nations like Vietnam.

The startling documentary Daughter From Danang cautions once again to be careful what you wish for.