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Up the Yangtze
Universal acclaim
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Yung Chang
Directed by: Yung Chang
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 25, 2008
Running Time: 93 minutes, Color
Origin: Canada
Language(s): English / Mandarin
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Jerry Bo Yu Chen, Campbell Ping He, and Cindy Shui Yu
In China, it is simply known as 'The River.' But the Yangtze—and all of the life that surrounds it—is undergoing an astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather’s youth to trace the surreal life of a “farewell cruise” that traverses the gargantuan waterway. With a humanist gaze and wry wit Chang’s Upstairs Downstairs approach captures the microcosmic society of the luxury liner. Below deck: a bewildered young girl trains as a dishwasher sent to work by her peasant family, who is on the verge of relocation from the encroaching floodwaters. Above deck: wealthy international tourists set sail to catch a last glance of a country in dramatic flux. The teenage employees who serve and entertain them—tagged with new Westernized names like “Cindy” and “Jerry” by upper management—warily grasp at the prospect of a better future. "Up the Yangtze" gives a human dimension to the wrenching changes facing not only an increasingly globalized China, but the world at large. (Zeitgeist 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...
The New York Times Stephen Holden
An astonishing documentary of culture clash and the erasure of history amid China’s economic miracle.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Chang's images of the Yangtze and the new megacities replacing the villages on its banks are spectacular, and his cast of characters rival any fiction film I've seen recently.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Filmmaker Yung Chang finds a sad and beautiful way to glimpse the big picture of dislocation through an exquisitely poised small study.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
In his masterful and haunting documentary Up the Yangtze, Yung Chang shows the old China drowning helplessly under the weight of the new.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Before that marvel of human engineering - China's Three Gorges Dam - completes its legacy of human upheaval, there are vanishing sights to be seen.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
May be the best film to date about the humanitarian and environmental impact of China's enormous Three Gorges Dam project.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Trained in Sanford Meisner's acting techniques, the director wrests surprisingly emotional disclosures from his subjects.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
One of the real pluses of Up the Yangtze, aside from its empathy with its subjects, is its striking visual quality. Beijing-based cinematographer Wang Shi Qing has an impeccable eye, often coming up with haunting images that show both the beauty and uncertainty of this pivotal time.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Scott Foundas
By journey's end, Yung has found, in the Yangtze, a brilliant natural metaphor for upward mobility in modern China: Whether they hail from the lowlands or the urban centers, everyone here is scrambling to reach higher ground.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
By focusing on his two young protagonists, Chang is able to explore the cultural differences between China and the rest of the world, resulting in sequences that are alternately humorous and eye-opening
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
If, like me, you're both desperate to see new public-works systems in our own country and sensitive to the possible human and ecological damage, Up the Yangtze provides a devastating view of top-down, broad-stroke social programs.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Goes from sleepily hypnotic to riveting over the course of 90 minutes.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
The disparity between Cindy and Jerry is itself obscene, but less so than that illuminated by the customers of Farewell Cruises, whom Yung shows to be almost parasitic in the way they feed off the misery (albeit without knowing it) of those who serve them.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
When the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began construction in the early Nineties, an estimated 2 million people's lives were impacted. That's a staggering number to contemplate, but Up the Yangtze effectively personalizes that near-meaningless number by putting a face on at least a few of those 2 million.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
China's public image suffers another blow with Up the Yangtze, a documentary by Chinese-Canadian Yung Chang.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
David gave it a10:
The father is one of the most interesting, but tragic characters I have ever seen caught on film. His recognition of change, and his responsibilities outweigh any anger he has about relocating. Simply a stunning documentary, one that should be seen by anybody who has bought a product from China, aka everybody!
Annie S. gave it a10:
Devastatingly haunting, heart-breaking, and beautiful. One of the most stunning and important films of our time.
Gabriel gave it a9:
Very powerful film. I'm not sure what Dyna is talking about, of course the subject outweighs the film, the subject matter is heavier than lead.
Robert I. gave it a9:
An affecting documentary, witnessing the rise and fall of contemporary China. By focusing on a young woman's wrenching away from her precarious family home, we get an intimate glimpse of her expanding universe, at once thrilling and somehow sooty and spoiled. Sadness and loss teeter on the brink of the rising waters, which bear prosperity, hope, and our imperfect world to China.
J D. gave it a10:
Whenever the focus switches back to Yu Shui's saga, the film quickly regains its affecting resolve. No more so than in the long, lingering shot of her peasant father who, as the water level rises, is carting off what's left of his home, bearing the load on his back, trudging step by weary step up the steep incline of the riverbank. In mid-climb, the man pauses and, in that frozen instant, belongs both to tomorrow's uncertain world and to yesterday's harsh myth – he's modern China and he's Sisyphus.
Dyna M. gave it a5:
Filmmaker doesn't have a steady balance of form or style. Unevenly audition different methods of filmmaking into one piece. Subject outweighs the film.
