Bad Axe

Name: Bad Axe
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 18, 2022
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Austin Turmell, Chun Siev, Jaclyn Siev, Michael Meinhold, Rachel Siev

2022

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Universal acclaim based on 11 Critic Reviews

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Bad Axe

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: November 18, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Austin Turmell, Chun Siev, Jaclyn Siev, Michael Meinhold, Rachel Siev, Raquel Siev, Skyler Janssen

Summary: A real-time portrait of 2020 unfolds as an Asian-American family in Trump’s rural America fights to keep their restaurant and American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars from the Cambodian Killing Fields.

Director: David Siev

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 100 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Nov 18, 2022

Bad Axe really gets at how much the national anxiety of the 2020s broadened the chasms that already existed in our society, pushing politically different people against one another in ways that historians will debate for eternity. Read full review

100

Collider Therese Lacson

Apr 25, 2022

There is no simple solution. All Bad Axe offers is a portrait of an American family coming together in a time of conflict and what they can overcome when they stick together, and sometimes that's enough. Read full review

100

G. Allen Johnson

Nov 16, 2022

Bad Axe is a raw and stunning work of immediacy, a frontlines report from Trump country on the immigrant experience, family loyalty and community co-existence. It is not just among the finest and most important films of the year, but it will stand as a valuable historical and social document of these times. Read full review

Dan Fienberg

Mar 23, 2022

It’s not a love letter to a Michigan town, but it’s a love letter to overcoming adversity with the help of family, of business, of identity. Read full review

Fran Hoepfner

Nov 16, 2022

At its best, Bad Axe is a family portrait, dynamic and curious and funny. It’s to Siev’s benefit that he belongs to one of the most charismatic families of all time, whose unending curiosity in each other and their respective wellbeing keeps the engine chugging along. Read full review

Andrew Crump

Nov 21, 2022

It’s a simple film about complicated, often painful confirmations about the country we all call home, and about optimism for what that country can look like when people share it with each other; it’s about what happens when your worst nightmare come true; for Chun, it’s also about suffering a nightmare so dreadful that the foundational trauma of your youth seems preferable by comparison. But it’s especially about the way movies change the people who make them and the people who watch them. Bad Axe is a gift. Read full review

Natalia Winkelman

Nov 17, 2022

This is a hermetic story, but one wishes that Siev had balanced its coziness with acuity. Read full review

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Roach87

Dec 28, 2022

Dang, this doc got me. Had no idea what to expect and came out of it with an overwhelming sense of inspiration and hope. The Sieve family is kick-ass, but then again, what would you expect from a movie named Bad Axe (an actual town in Michigan). Feel like this is the story America needs toDang, this doc got me. Had no idea what to expect and came out of it with an overwhelming sense of inspiration and hope. The Sieve family is kick-ass, but then again, what would you expect from a movie named Bad Axe (an actual town in Michigan). Feel like this is the story America needs to hear right now because it allows you to really put yourself in this family's shoes. Kudos.… Expand

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abd_

Jan 10, 2023

Don't normally rate/review movies. Also am a bit skeptical of media tackling such weighty topics without pushing an agenda. But this film felt unique. Was truly touched by the family's story. We all went through this phase of history together and we all have our own American Dream. There isDon't normally rate/review movies. Also am a bit skeptical of media tackling such weighty topics without pushing an agenda. But this film felt unique. Was truly touched by the family's story. We all went through this phase of history together and we all have our own American Dream. There is something here for everyone to connect with - would highly recommend.… Expand

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