X
  • 2016
  • Not Rated
  • 8 Above
  • 1 h 24 m
  • 2016
  • Not Rated
  • 8 Above
  • 1 h 24 m

Summary When a Chinese elementary school principal who raped six of his students seems poised to receive a light sentence, famed women’s rights advocate Ye Haiyan (AKA Hooligan Sparrow) leads a group of activists in a protest – a move that could end with each participant’s arrest. As filmmaker Nanfu Wang films the demonstration and its aftermath...

Written By: Mark Monroe

  • 2016
  • Not Rated
  • 8 Above
  • 1 h 24 m
  • 2016
  • Not Rated
  • 8 Above
  • 1 h 24 m

Hooligan Sparrow

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 13 Critic Reviews
78
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary When a Chinese elementary school principal who raped six of his students seems poised to receive a light sentence, famed women’s rights advocate Ye Haiyan (AKA Hooligan Sparrow) leads a group of activists in a protest – a move that could end with each participant’s arrest. As filmmaker Nanfu Wang films the demonstration and its aftermath...

Written By: Mark Monroe

Where to Watch

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 13 Critic Reviews
78
100% Positive
13 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 13 Critic Reviews
78
100% Positive
13 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Jul 22, 2016
Regardless of their ultimate fate, the existence of Ye Haiyan and every soul she has ever sought to protect are undeniable, and thanks to filmmakers like Wang, immortal.
By Matt Fagerholm FULL REVIEW
88
Sep 9, 2016
The searing documentary Hooligan Sparrow is a portrait of courage.
By Moira Macdonald FULL REVIEW
83
Jul 12, 2016
Hooligan Sparrow is a vital reminder of the importance of artistic and journalistic freedom, and that telling certain stories can be an inherently perilous proposition — especially when those stories reveal something that the government would rather keep under wraps.
By Katie Walsh FULL REVIEW
80
Jul 12, 2016
Throughout, Wang makes a virtue out of necessity: Her on-the-run scoping and jarring cuts infuse the film with a sense of desperate danger befitting its subject matter.
By Duane Byrge FULL REVIEW
70
Jul 21, 2016
Hooligan Sparrow, which Ms. Wang also shot and skillfully edited, has the pulse of a mainstream thriller but without the pacifying polish and tidiness.
By Manohla Dargis FULL REVIEW
67
Jul 21, 2016
Hooligan Sparrow is held tight on the strength of the solidarity it finds between these women, and while many other movies have more powerfully exposed the corruption of contemporary China, few have so articulately confronted the gendered weight of these prejudices, and how women always seem to be the first citizens to have their wings clipped.
By David Ehrlich FULL REVIEW
63
Jul 10, 2016
The Nanfu Wang film's noble aims are mirrored in its more frustrating and conventional qualities.
By Christopher Gray FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Little Horse Crossing the River
Release Date Jul 22, 2016
Duration 1 h 24 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Website https://www.facebook.com/hooligansparrow
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Awards

Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Nashville Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 2 Nominations

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