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Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
EMAILPRINTOscilloscope Laboratories

Universal acclaim
Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Anders Østergaard
Directed by: Anders Østergaard
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 20, 2009
Running Time: 84 minutes, Color
Origin: Denmark
Language(s): Burmese | English
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
While 100,000 people (including 1,000s of Buddhist monks) took to the streets to protest the country's repressive regime that has held them hostage for over 40 years, foreign news crews were banned to enter and the Internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even after they themselves become targets of the authorities. (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
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...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Filmmaking at its most fearless, with Ostergaard creating a suspenseful, harrowing account of his original key subject, known only as "Joshua."
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ella Taylor
There was no happy ending, but if Burma VJ's account of the efficacy of dictatorship threatens to crush you, the sight of a sturdy young back disappearing into the mountains, returning from a Thailand hideout for another round of bearing witness, should make your heart burst.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's the truth, unshackled and captured against all odds, and it's one of the most powerful documentary films I have ever seen, period.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Burma VJ’ retorts that eyes and ears are everywhere in our ever-tightening global communications mesh. Voices, too, and they get heard. The generals and the ayatollahs have every right to be scared.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Anyone who doubts that a single individual can make a political impact should see Anders Østergaard’s gripping documentary.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Daniel Eagan
In preparing Burma VJ, Ostergaard decided to reconstruct some scenes with scripted dialogue -- in part to explain events, but also to protect the participants. This material, shot in darkened offices and apartments, feels both accurate and necessary.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Thanks to the new guerrilla narrative, the world has a constant flow of images to file in its collective consciousness. And that camera-testable accountability slowly becomes a global civic right that fulfills the noblest purpose of journalism -- to bring truth to power.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
The most compelling footage was taken during the uprising of August and September 2007, which put a bad scare into the government because a large number of Buddhist monks played a prominent role.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
The news footage, so powerful on its own, needs no enhancement. The dramatized scenes only slow the film's momentum.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
oerd i gave it a10:
A rare and moving view of the peaceful protests in Burma and the brutal crackdown that followed. A must see for anyone interested in politics or human rights.
