Shanghai Ghetto
Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
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  1. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    88
    One thing that strikes you as you watch Shanghai Ghetto is how little mingling there was between the Chinese and the Jews.
  2. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    Fascinating.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    A touching documentary.
  4. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    80
    Especially interesting are the complex relations among the residents of the ghetto.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: John Petrakis
    75
    A salute to those who were blessed not only with savvy and courage, but something between an uncanny sense of foresight and an unforeseen stroke of good fortune.
  6. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    The account is highly informative, although it would come across more vividly if there were fewer talking heads and longer stretches of archival footage.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    This is a vital history lesson that many of us have missed but few are likely to forget.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    Where so many Holocaust documentaries remember the past and preach not to repeat it, Shanghai Ghetto remembers the past and teaches the relativity of experience.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Carla Meyer
    75
    Consisting mostly of talking-head interviews, the film isn't especially dynamic, but it brims with insightful, poignant memories from survivors.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Janice Page
    75
    May not be as dramatic as Roman Polanski's ''The Pianist,'' but its compassionate spirit soars every bit as high.
  11. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    The subject may be familiar to those who happened to catch the 1998 documentary "Port of Last Resort," but this remarkable true story certainly bears repeating.
  12. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    70
    One of the most fascinating and least documented tributaries of the Jewish experience in World War II.
  13. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    70
    The storytelling is eloquent and genuine, but the Manns' unadventurous approach (compared to, for instance, last year's intimate road movie "Fighter") rarely hits emotional pay dirt.
  14. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    70
    A serious and thoughtful documentary.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    70
    The film uses standard techniques to tell its tale -- videotaped interviews with survivors interspersed with newsreel images from the period -- but does so with integrity and attention to detail.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Teresa Wiltz
    70
    Despite the film's shortcomings, the stories are quietly moving.
  17. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    50
    The documentary is much too conventional -- lots of boring talking heads, etc. -- to do the subject matter justice.
  18. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lael Lowenstein
    50
    The material is more interesting than the film's rather dry mode of presentation, which is somewhat hampered by a dearth of archival footage.
  19. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    40
    Should be applauded for finding a new angle on a tireless story, but you might want to think twice before booking passage.

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