The Search for General Tso

Name: The Search for General Tso
Genre: History, Mystery, Comedy, Documentary
Released: January 2, 2015
Duration: 71 min
Rating: 72

2015

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Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

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The Search For General Tso

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: January 2, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: This mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery. General Tso's chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country. But just who was General Tso? And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine? DirectorThis mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery. General Tso's chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country. But just who was General Tso? And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine? Director Ian Cheney (King Corn) journeys from Shanghai to New York to the American Midwest and beyond to uncover the origins of this iconic dish, turning up surprising revelations and a host of humorous characters along the way. [Sundance Selects]… Expand

Director: Ian Cheney

Genre(s): History, Mystery, Comedy, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 71 min

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Critic Reviews

Ty Burr

Mar 5, 2015

It’s noted that General Tso himself was a guardian of Chinese tradition and would himself shudder at what the dish named for him has become. On the other hand, what does “authenticity” even mean when it comes to cuisine that has assimilated into another culture along with the people who make it? The best food — the kind we want again and again — always tastes like home. Wherever that is. Read full review

Scott Foundas

Dec 8, 2014

Eventually, the quixotic “search” of the movie’s title seems secondary to that more arduous quest of so many Chinese-Americans to find their place in a country that did not always welcome them with open arms, and how food forged the path of least resistance. Read full review

John DeFore

Dec 8, 2014

In tracing the origins of this restaurant staple, Ian Cheney's The Search for General Tso is as much an immigration history as a culinary one, observing how a people who were demonized as low-wage laborers found entrepreneurial success in small and large towns across the country. Read full review

Sara Stewart

Jan 3, 2015

You may well emerge from The Search for General Tso with a hankering for the titular spicy dish. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Jan 1, 2015

Like any well-researched piece worth its weight in MSG, the documentary uses food as an angle to something else: a look at immigration and at a melting pot stirred by prejudice and persecution, later seasoned with adaptation, innovation and acceptance. Read full review

Kenji Fujishima

Dec 29, 2014

Director Ian Cheney doesn't delve too deeply into the possibly unsettling questions the documentary raises about society at large. Read full review

Chris Packham

Dec 30, 2014

Most of The Search for General Tso is a breezy survey of the history of Chinese-American cuisine. Read full review

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