Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story
Sagewood Cinema Ventures | Release Date: January 12, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The film unfolds with all the heart-stopping suspense of a true-crime expose that sheds light on the twisted policies of Kim Jong-il's strange and secretive nation. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
In a time when American TV is full of stories of missing loved ones, Abduction keenly explores the reactions of an altogether different society and also examines the universal, excruciating pain suffered by such victims and their families everywhere. Read full review
80
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
The filmmakers have loftier goals, though, and in the end their existential tabloid style justifies itself. Abduction isn't about what happened, but about the painful introspection that is sparked by not knowing. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Abduction uses interviews, vintage photos and re-creations to tell the sad story of love and hope in riveting, suspenseful style. So powerful is this film, it brought tears to my eyes. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Spellbinding. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
Looks, sounds and fascinates like an exceptional episode of a true-crime TV series. Read full review
70
Village VoiceEd Gonzalez
Despite its structure, Abduction sheds light on the disturbing politics North Korea deploys to simultaneously intimidate the world and guard itself from attack. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Abduction sheds light onto one of the strangest episodes in recent Asian history, but the murk that hangs over North Korea is still too deep for much light to penetrate. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
The dramatic story is related here in a somewhat diffuse and scattershot fashion that reduces some of its impact. But there is no denying its emotional resonance. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Sometimes too ominous for its own good. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The long campaign waged by the Yokotas and other families demanding Japan's diplomatic intervention forms the core of this haunting BBC digital documentary. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
This is a fascinating, underreported piece of recent world history, but Patty Kim and Chris Sheridan's documentary Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story doesn't do it full justice. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
For 20 years, Megumi's family doesn't know where she is; when they find out, the frustrations and uncertainties only mount. But as thickets of history and culture are (too) neatly avoided, the viewer is also left in the dark. Read full review
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