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Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The
Cinema Guild


9.2

based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Thavisouk Phrasavath

Shot over the course of 23 years, Thavi narrates his own story as a child surviving the Vietnam war and then as a young man struggling to overcome the hardships of immigrant life, an experience shared with his mother in war. Breathtaking and compelling, renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras’s film is a poetic, deeply personal film, a powerfully eloquent tribute of what it means to be in exile, of the far-reaching consequences of war, and of the resilient bonds of family. Thavisouk’s unforgettable journey reminds us of the strength necessary to survive and of the human spirit’s inspiring capacity to adapt, rebuild, and forgive. (Celluloid Dreams)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Ellen Kuras Thavisouk Phrasavath
DIRECTED BY:	Ellen Kuras Thavisouk Phrasavath
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: November 21, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	96 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

A riveting works of humanism.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The film is lyrical, expansive, unbearably beautiful.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Self-consciously poetic and shot within a luscious inch of its life, the film's also an engrossing heartbreaker: a family saga that spans continents, political administrations, and decades of travail to arrive at a harder, wiser place.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

More than anything, The Betrayal is a cinematic essay about family and loss and home, one that's ironic and elegiac in tone and requires some patience.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Impressionistic and lyrical, as well as somber and gripping, The Betrayal conveys a ceaseless flow. It's as if the filmmaker has opened a window onto a parallel world traveling beside our own.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

A powerful account of how the American dream became a nightmare for one Laotian family.

Variety Scott Foundas

Though an admirable attempt to allow the characters to tell their own story in their own voices, docu may be a bit too freely associative, as it becomes difficult at times to identify individual characters... Picture's second half, which proceeds in a more linear fashion, is resolutely gripping.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The result is imperfect, but its roughness is entirely consistent with the way the filmmakers understand the traumatic experiences of displacement, loss and deprivation.

Los Angeles Times Sheri Linden

Exploring a Lao family's experience during and since the Vietnam War, the film chronicles the treacheries of geopolitics and the upheaval of exile.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The past-and-present layering is a lot more resonant -- and less sketchy -- than the film's theme of ''betrayal,'' both familial and governmental.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jon C. gave it a10:
A truly surprising and moving documentary. It goes unexpected places and makes unexpected connections.

Maciek K. gave it a10:
What an amazing film. Usually I feel uncomfortable with this level of intimacy in a documentary. I think it's a credit to Ellen Kuras and Thavi that intimate and heart rending revelations are presented naturally without a hint of voyeurism. There seems to be a bond between them and Ellen and the family which allows for a seamless insight into the families experience. I am an immigrant too, but arrived under very different and privileged conditions. Nevertheless, there are so many universal truths, feelings, and experiences depicted in the film that will resonante with anyone.GO SEE IT!!!!!!! It's a 10+

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Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The Cinema Guild

Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The
Cinema Guild