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God Grew Tired of Us
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Christopher Dillon Quinn
Tommy Walker
Directed by: Christopher Dillon Quinn
Release Date:
Theatrical: January 12, 2007
Running Time: 86 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for thematic elements and some disturbing images
Starring Nicole Kidman (narrator), John Dau, and Daniel Abul Pach
This documentary explores the indomitable spirit of three "Lost Boys" from the Sudan who leave their homeland, triumph over seemingly insurmountable adversities and move to America, where they build active and fulfilling new lives but remain deeply committed to helping the friends and family they have left behind. (Newmarket Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer 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...
Film Threat Mark Bell
Visually stunning and contextually provocative, God Grew Tired of Us is quite simply one of the most beautiful documentaries I've ever seen. Intelligent, heartbreaking, uplifting, humorous and reverent, the film is an adventure in what it means to be human.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A moving documentary that informs, entertains and inspires.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Seesawing between despair and soul-affirming inspiration, God Grew Tired of Us is a documentary to make you proud of what America offers to the rest of the world and worried that it can't keep its promises.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
Fortunately, their story is just as compelling here, and the film's subjects display impressive adaptability, as well as a desire not to forget those they've left behind.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano
Quinn discovers an unexpectedly funny, trenchant fish-out-of-water-eye-view of American life.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg
An incredibly powerful story of renewal, commitment and the resiliency of the human spirit, this is a movie that should attract a large theatrical audience, and no one will go home disappointed.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
More factual rigor wouldn't hurt, but directors Quinn and Walker delve instead into the lives of their subjects with a fly-on-the-wall candor, revealing as much about American life as they do of African life.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
It's not as good, nor as complex, as "The Lost Boys," but that doesn't make the story of mass annihilation, sprawling refugee camps, the generosity of Americans, and the resilience of a handful of Sudanese survivors any less worthy of telling - again.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Kamal AL-Solaylee
Against all odds and historical improbabilities, God Grew Tired of Us is a pleasant, uplifting documentary about genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Read Full Review >Premiere Joey Chase
If nothing else, this doc, which one the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at last year's Sundance Film Festival, will leave you feeling that the American dream is still alive and well.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Crtainly worthy of serious attention and filled with revealing moments.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
The doggedness and good will of these men are irresistible as they pick up on the American dream, finding work and even college educations while trying to locate their missing relatives back home.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Narrated by Nicole Kidman, this poignant documentary tells only half the story of three Sudanese "lost boys" who emigrate to America. Though it doesn't delve as deep as it should, this movie will still break your heart.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
A year into their new lives, all three men experience profound isolation. How, they wonder, can Americans live such anti-social lives, so unconcerned with the idea of societal interdependence? This is the chief unexamined question raised by a worthy picture. What is there holds you all the same.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The message, unspoken but inescapable, is that a little sharing might feed wealthy and poor alike.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Handsomely photographed and inspirational, but not cloyingly so, it is the rare contemporary documentary that doesn't leave a residue of cynicism and outrage.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
This is an important film. It's amazing that it exists, and the events it recounts are still more amazing. Everybody should see it.
Read Full Review >Variety John Anderson
Although shot over a longer period of time than "Lost Boys," God Grew Tired is a softer, less complex version of essentially the same story, far less troubling in its explorations and implications than "The Lost Boys," but with far greater commercial potential.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
It's convincing as everything but a piece of good filmmaking.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
God Grew Tired of Us never brings us half as close to its subjects as the far more penetrating "Lost Boys of Sudan" did in 2004.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's the warmth and resolve and humility of the young men that keeps us going. It may be more ennobling than introspective, but these three earn their nobility.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Rob Nelson
A borderline lazy but nonetheless compelling documentary co-produced by National Geographic.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
This is a film that adds to our understanding of human nature. Yet its impact is lessened by a lack of factual context, and by an inspirational climax that may leave one feeling good and uneasy in equal measure.
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
brian l gave it a10:
This was a very big eye opener, this documentary is excellent.
Andrew K. gave it a7:
A wonderful film. Very educational. Having never seen "Lost Boys," I can't know if this film was as good, but for someone who knew nothing of the issue at hand, I found it to be a very good film. The boys whose lives we follow are so inspiring to me because they possess more will power, more moral strength, and more determination than I could ever hope to achieve. This is one of those films that makes you look at yourself and at our country, and realize both how lucky we are and how selfish. I'm glad that these guys were able to improve their lives by coming here, but I think it's a shame that we were not able to do more for them. And it has more to do with the way we are structured as a society than anything else. The refugees question our ability to get through our lives with so little social interaction...with such hostility toward people we don't know. And it makes you realize what a culture of fear we live in. I came out of this film feeling very confused about the way in which I live my life and the direction that we are headed as a country. And that's what makes this such an important film. It makes you think.
Heidi F. gave it a10:
This is one of the best films I have ever seen! It makes you think about what is really important in life. These boys are here in the U.S. so we can help and teach them, but I feel it is "us" who need to be taught from them. The humor in the film was also great!
[Anonymous] gave it an8:
The film avoids the pall of uplift that can sabotage chronicales of human reclemation. The so-called Lost boys were literally boys when they fled Sudan on foot, by the thosands, to avoid being slaughtered by Muslim armies from the north. That was 1983. Long before relief angenices flew some of them to the US to build new lives, they had formed their own communities in refugee camps, keeping their dignity, good will, and caring natures alive. The film shows three such men restling in Pittsburg and Syracuse. Some miss the web of human connections in the camp communities. But their work ethic, intellegence, and resolutness sustain them. On the top of getting college degrees and succeding materially the displaced Sudanease are intent on reuniting their scattered familys. When the mother of one, John Daue, staggers of a plane in saracuse wailing in Dinka to her waiting son, it's heartendering and joyus at the same time. The movie is capitvating and brilliant.
