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A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    In observing the reality of this relationship, Wang contemplates the "generation gap" in modern societies all over the world. His film quietly, carefully, movingly observes how these two people of the same blood will never be able to understand each other, and the younger one won't even care to.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    83
    A spare, controlled study in communication gaps and a piercing sketch of suburban American loneliness.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    80
    Rich in revealing detail and apt in its use of everyday Spokane settings, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers shows that Wang remains a master explorer of the landscape of the human heart.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    An intelligent look at family dynamics set in a boring Washington State suburb where Bible-thumping Mormons come knocking on your door.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    75
    Has a jangly, improvisational tone, with nuanced moments of humor and pathos.
  6. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    The movie is almost willfully dull, for its real subject is everything we never say to our parents, or they to us.
  7. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    75
    Wang's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers gives the impression of a director reborn, or at least a director who has his mojo back.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: John DeFore
    70
    Modest but moving, a finely observed portrait of a father/daughter relationship that will resonate deeply for many viewers.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    70
    There's nothing earth-shattering going on here, but it's a film you'll want to befriend.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    70
    A gentle, pleasantly unrushed piece of moviemaking. There's a tonic simplicity to how it gets the job done, and if the film comes off as fairly conventional stuff, it nevertheless succeeds on its own modest, middlebrow terms.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    60
    Very little actually happens, since most of the time Mr. Shi sits alone in Yilan's empty apartment, wondering how to help her. But there's a gentle beauty in these long, anguished silences, and Wang and his actors make the most of it.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    50
    A quiet work with Ozu-like structure and concerns, but remains more an intellectual exercise than one from the heart.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Neely Tucker
    50
    May leave you longing for a story to make you care.
  14. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Joshua Katzman
    50
    As in most of Wang's films, a memorable cast of characters compensates for a serviceable plot.
  15. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    42
    Most of the film isn't as willing to reach out to viewers, and most won't be willing to do all the work in order to connect with it.
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