A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Yiyun Li (novel) and
Yiyun Li (stories)
(more)

Release Date:

10 April 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The book is a collection of stories about life in modern China and the United States.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Number In Title

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Henry O	...	Mr. Shi
Pavel Lychnikoff	...	Boris
Feihong Yu	...	Yilan
Vida Ghahremani	...	Madam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Megan Albertus	...	Forensics Girl
Wes Deitrick	...	Antique Owner
Angela Dierdorff Petro	...	Maggie
Liz Mathews	...	Business Woman
Ryan Sanson	...	Plane Passenger
Tracy Schornick	...	Troy
Trent Sweeney	...	Boy
Patrick Treadway	...	Homeless Man
Lonny W. Waddle	...	City Bus Passenger
Jared Wagner	...	Airport Greeter

Directed by
Wayne Wang

Writing credits
Yiyun Li		(novel)
Yiyun Li		stories
Michael Ray		script consultant

Produced by
Rich Cowan	....	producer
Lee Joo-Ick	....	executive producer
Yukie Kito	....	producer
Yasushi Kotani	....	executive producer
Juan A. Mas	....	supervising producer
Taizo Son	....	executive producer
Wayne Wang	....	producer

Original Music by
Lesley Barber

Cinematography by
Patrick Lindenmaier

Film Editing by
Deirdre Slevin

Casting by
Nike Imoru
Todd M. Thaler

Production Design by
Vincent DeFelice

Set Decoration by
Dan Beyer

Costume Design by
Lisa Caryl

Makeup Department
Trista Jordan	....	key makeup artist
Mike Meyers	....	hair stylist
Taci Van Leuven	....	assistant makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rich Cowan	....	first assistant director
Lynn Wegenka	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Amber Grunte	....	set dresser
Pete Moroz	....	on-set dresser

Sound Department
Ryan Collison	....	foley engineer
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	supervising sound editor
Heather Gross	....	sound effects editor
Allen Lau	....	assistant sound editor
Cate Montana	....	adr editor
Jay Peck	....	foley artist
Jac Rubenstein	....	dialogue editor
Tom Taylor	....	sound mixer
Rusty Dunn	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Clifford	....	second assistant camera
Brianne Cronkhite	....	second assistant camera
Philipp Koller	....	first assistant camera
Jeremy Mackie	....	electrician
Dan Misner	....	dolly grip
Mike Vukas	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Philip Huffman	....	casting associate
Colin Johnson	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rebecca Cook	....	set costumer
Hilary Winkworth	....	key set costumer

Editorial Department
Jason Mckee	....	assistant editor
Renannah Weinstein	....	assistant editor
Jason A. Payne	....	additional editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Deva Anderson	....	music supervisor
Lesley Barber	....	conductor
Lesley Barber	....	orchestrator
Neil Parfitt	....	scoring music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Philip Allister Anderson	....	picture car coordinator
Adam C. Boyd	....	driver: cast
John Petty	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Craig Binkley	....	location manager
Adam C. Boyd	....	production assistant
Cheryl Cowan	....	script supervisor
Thomas Dineen	....	assistant production coordinator
Mollie Mraz	....	production assistant
Gretchen Oyster	....	key set production assistant
Travis Pell	....	production assistant
Frederic Perrin	....	caterer
Kurt Wetherill	....	production assistant
Ryan Sanson	....	production intern (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Boram Entertainment (uncredited)
• Entertainment Farm (EF)
• North by Northwest Entertainment

Distributors

• EDKO Film (2009) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Pandora Filmproduktion (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Imovision (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Creative Artists Agency (CAA)  domestic sales
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities

Runtime:

Germany:83 min | Canada:83 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:83 min | Argentina:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Mandarin | Persian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG | Hong Kong:I | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA

Company:

Boram Entertainment

Quotes:

Mr. Shi: [tries to explain] Communist no bad.
[sentence in Chinese]
Mr. Shi: Communist in bad hand.

Soundtrack:

Katioucha

Wayne Wang Returns To Form

The films of Wayne Wang are an acquired taste. His early films,such as 'Eat A Bowl Of Tea','Dim Sum:A Little Bit Of Heart',and his best known film 'The Joy Luck Club' are meditations on the Asian lifestyle in the United States. If your tastes are aimed at explosions,car chases, mindless teen sex romps,bathroom humour,then avoid Wang's films at all costs. If you like a well written screenplay that doesn't dwell on car chases,explosions,toilet humour & all the rest that make for just another descent into the cinematic sewer,then you just may get your groove on with the films of Wayne Wang. Here,a elderly Chinese widower comes to the U.S. to visit his adult daughter (and try to run her life), while adjusting to the American experience (or at least trying to adjust). Toss in an attempted friendship with a widow from Iran,mix in some long hidden family secrets, and we have ourselves the formula for a real human drama. The cast,mainly made up of unknowns,make this slowly paced (but never boring)drama an alternative to the formulaic Hollywood garbage that always seems to be the centre of attention at the local multiplexes. No rating,but outside of the discreet mention of extra marital affairs,nothing to offend here.