A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

This movie appears to have been made on a shoestring budget. The script is poor, the dialog seemingly improvised, and the acting , profoundly amateurish. While the original story might have had some merit, the movie destroys that completely. It has none! There are so many dead ends in the movie that one struggles to make sense of exactly what the message is supposed to be. It's just a totally pointless movie, and a huge waste of time to watch! If streaming sites were not so desperate for content, this movie would take its rightful and well deserved place in oblivion.

It is so refreshing to see a director (Wayne Wang) so courageously has his audience go through watching and listening to conversations in mixed dialogues exploring the "human relationships and communications" that goes beyond common language! There is an understanding that masterfully is being established during the movie with the audience, interestingly enough, the old man (Henry O) fails to establish this with his daughter, but it is being established with the audience, "with subtitles at times." Then the climax, the scenes/conversations in the park between an Iranian old woman (Vida Ghahremani) and the Chinese old man (Henry O) in mixed languages, Mandarin, Farsi, and English, "with No sub titles!" which the audience has no problem understanding it and it is fluent, enticing and absolutely delightful. This is an amazingly smart and fascinating movie with masterful acting, specially the old couple, the Iranian old woman (Vida Ghahremani) and the Chinese old man (Henry O). Warning: if you are looking for an Action or Kong Fu movie, this may not be your top choice.

There is some warning in this story and it is well worth watching. Henry O performs admirably in his role as the watchful father that harbors his own secrets. His best intentions fall short of the mark and despite his efforts, life seems to follow a path that is not of his making.

The writer and author is revealed in the title. Just search on it. If you don't like stories like this or Samuel Beckets "Waiting for Godot" (all on a park bench) then don't watch it. I found the story humorous and uplifting but it saddened and worried me that the relationship between a father and his child will not get better.

This is a good film and deserves its awards.

The films of Wayne Wang are an acquired taste. His early films,such as 'Eat A Bowl Of Tea','Dim Sum:A Little Bit Of Heart',and his best known film 'The Joy Luck Club' are meditations on the Asian lifestyle in the United States. If your tastes are aimed at explosions,car chases, mindless teen sex romps,bathroom humour,then avoid Wang's films at all costs. If you like a well written screenplay that doesn't dwell on car chases,explosions,toilet humour & all the rest that make for just another descent into the cinematic sewer,then you just may get your groove on with the films of Wayne Wang. Here,a elderly Chinese widower comes to the U.S. to visit his adult daughter (and try to run her life), while adjusting to the American experience (or at least trying to adjust). Toss in an attempted friendship with a widow from Iran,mix in some long hidden family secrets, and we have ourselves the formula for a real human drama. The cast,mainly made up of unknowns,make this slowly paced (but never boring)drama an alternative to the formulaic Hollywood garbage that always seems to be the centre of attention at the local multiplexes. No rating,but outside of the discreet mention of extra marital affairs,nothing to offend here.

Boy! Just what we need more of in our world today! Such a thoughtful piece. I could almost want to watch it again, now that I'm more familiar with the story and the language barriers. It moves slowly and quietly, murmuring life along its way. I loved it! I don't want to say anything negative except that a couple of reviews were unduly critical and mean spirited.