IONCINEMA.com presents: A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2008)

CAST AND CREW

Director

Wayne Wang

Cast (alphabetical order):

Vida Ghahremani

Pasha D. Lynchnikoff

Henry O

Faye Yu

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

Release Date: Sep 19, 2008 - Wide Release
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Film Genre: Romantic Drama
Country: United States

» IMDB.com

Mr. Shi (Henry O), a retired widower from Beijing, comes to the United States to visit his only daughter, Yilan (Faye Yu), who is going through a divorce. He hopes to help her recover from the trauma and reconstruct her life but he soon learns that his goals are in direct conflict with her desire to move on. The more Mr. Shi persists, the more Yilan retreats. Disappointed but not discouraged, Mr. Shi explores the small town and meets Madam, an elderly lady who fled the Iranian Revolution decades earlier. Neither Mr. Shi nor Madam speak English well, but by gesturing and talking in their own language, they develop a rare friendship, in which they find momentary haven from the world of lies they have woven to keep themselves hopeful. The ongoing struggle between father and daughter, mirroring the differences between first and second generation Chinese, leads to revelations that Mr. Shi has never been prepared to face and a confrontation which forces both to accept the other and to understand their choices. Raised in a culture in which self-expression is not encouraged, the transition to the West has been liberating for Yilan but she can’t find the words in Chinese to express her feelings when confronted by a father who undoubtedly loves her but finds it hard to accept her decisions, since neither can escape truly escape the legacy of China’s Cultural Revolution.

MOVIE NEWS ITEMS

2008-04-29
'Prayers' Answered for Magnolia

2006-08-02
Production Weekly reports that Wayne Wang is set to direct the project which is scheduled to start filming this October in Spokane, Washington.