Up the Yangtze
Zeitgeist Films | Release Date: April 25, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyJohn Anderson
A gloriously cinematic documentay of epic, poetic sadness. Read full review
100
The New York TimesStephen Holden
An astonishing documentary of culture clash and the erasure of history amid China’s economic miracle. Read full review
100
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Chang's images of the Yangtze and the new megacities replacing the villages on its banks are spectacular, and his cast of characters rival any fiction film I've seen recently. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Filmmaker Yung Chang finds a sad and beautiful way to glimpse the big picture of dislocation through an exquisitely poised small study. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
In his masterful and haunting documentary Up the Yangtze, Yung Chang shows the old China drowning helplessly under the weight of the new. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
Remarkable. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Before that marvel of human engineering - China's Three Gorges Dam - completes its legacy of human upheaval, there are vanishing sights to be seen. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
May be the best film to date about the humanitarian and environmental impact of China's enormous Three Gorges Dam project. Read full review
80
Village VoiceScott Foundas
By journey's end, Yung has found, in the Yangtze, a brilliant natural metaphor for upward mobility in modern China: Whether they hail from the lowlands or the urban centers, everyone here is scrambling to reach higher ground. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
One of the real pluses of Up the Yangtze, aside from its empathy with its subjects, is its striking visual quality. Beijing-based cinematographer Wang Shi Qing has an impeccable eye, often coming up with haunting images that show both the beauty and uncertainty of this pivotal time. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Trained in Sanford Meisner's acting techniques, the director wrests surprisingly emotional disclosures from his subjects. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
By focusing on his two young protagonists, Chang is able to explore the cultural differences between China and the rest of the world, resulting in sequences that are alternately humorous and eye-opening Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Goes from sleepily hypnotic to riveting over the course of 90 minutes. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
If, like me, you're both desperate to see new public-works systems in our own country and sensitive to the possible human and ecological damage, Up the Yangtze provides a devastating view of top-down, broad-stroke social programs. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The disparity between Cindy and Jerry is itself obscene, but less so than that illuminated by the customers of Farewell Cruises, whom Yung shows to be almost parasitic in the way they feed off the misery (albeit without knowing it) of those who serve them. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
When the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began construction in the early Nineties, an estimated 2 million people's lives were impacted. That's a staggering number to contemplate, but Up the Yangtze effectively personalizes that near-meaningless number by putting a face on at least a few of those 2 million. Read full review
63
New York PostV.A. Musetto
China's public image suffers another blow with Up the Yangtze, a documentary by Chinese-Canadian Yung Chang. Read full review
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