80
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.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
100
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.
88
May be the best film to date about the humanitarian and environmental impact of China's enormous Three Gorges Dam project.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth 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.
100
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Filmmaker Yung Chang finds a sad and beautiful way to glimpse the big picture of dislocation through an exquisitely poised small study.
75
Miami Herald by Rene 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
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by 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.
100
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
An astonishing documentary of culture clash and the erasure of history amid China’s economic miracle.
63
China's public image suffers another blow with Up the Yangtze, a documentary by Chinese-Canadian Yung Chang.