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 "A brutally honest documentary about a much anticipated family reunion that goes wrong thanks to culture shock and a refusal to empathize with others."
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
"Slowly but surely devolves into a fascinating, cringe-inducing portrait of cultural solipsism, climaxing in an emotional meltdown that wouldn't look out of place in mid-period Cassavetes."
-- Mike D'Angelo, TIME OUT NEW YORK
"A gripping drama."
-- Ken Fox, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE
 "There is no insight into the anguish of Heidi's life -- only a depiction of pain, today's version of Greek tragedy, the talk-show guest decrying her fate."
-- Maria Garcia, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"The obnoxious title character provides the drama that gives added clout to this doc."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE
"The socio-histo-political treatise is told in earnest strides... [and] personal illusion is deconstructed with poignancy."
-- Jon Lap, APOLLO GUIDE
"Daughter from Danang is a film that should be seen by all, especially those who aren't aware of, or have forgotten about the unmentioned victims of war."
-- Jean Lowerison, SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN
"“What really happened?” is a question for philosophers, not filmmakers; all the filmmakers need to do is engage an audience."
-- Philip Martin, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
"This is not quite the achievement of Frederick Wiseman or Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky of the Paradise Lost films, but it is an instantly commanding, emotionally draining work."
-- David Perry, CINEMA-SCENE.COM
"The emotions are raw and will strike a nerve with anyone who's ever had family trauma."
-- Eric D. Snider, ERICDSNIDER.COM
Click to read the article.
-- Susan Tavernetti, PALO ALTO WEEKLY
-- Click to read the article.
-- Donald J. Levit, REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS
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"A moving and stark reminder that the casualties of war reach much further than we imagine."
-- Chris Gore, FILM THREAT
"Daughter From Danang reveals that efforts toward closure only open new wounds. It doesn't flinch from its unsettling prognosis, namely, that the legacy of war is a kind of perpetual pain."
-- Jonathan Kiefer, POPMATTERS
"Dolgin and Franco fashion a fascinating portrait of a Vietnamese-born youngster who eagerly and easily assimilated as an all-American girl with a brand new name in southern Tennessee."
-- Joe Leydon, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
"Daughter From Danang sticks with its subjects a little longer and tells a deeper story"
-- Marty Mapes, MOVIE HABIT
"The filmmakers craftily intuit the emotional high points of the mother-daughter reunion."
-- Nigam Nuggehalli, CULTUREVULTURE.NET
"Travels a fascinating arc from hope and euphoria to reality and disillusionment."
-- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS
"The war may have ended more than a quarter-century ago, but it's clear from watching this family that it's going to take more than a single generation for the scars to heal."
-- Glenn Whipp, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
Click to read the article.
-- REEL.COM
-- Click to read the article.
-- SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
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FRESH 100%
Avg. Rating: 8.7/10 |
"A sobering and powerful documentary about the most severe kind of personal loss: rejection by one's mother."
-- Duane Byrge, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"It isn't really to the credit of the makers of Daughter from Danang -- which understandably won the 2002 Sundance prize for best documentary -- that it turns out be so gripping."
-- Jonathan Foreman, NEW YORK POST
"That rare documentary that incorporates so much of human experience -- drama, conflict, tears and surprise -- that it transcends the normal divisions between fiction and nonfiction film."
-- Edward Guthmann, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Whatever heartwarming scene the impressively discreet filmmakers may have expected to record with their mini DV, they show a remarkable ability to document both sides of this emotional car-wreck."
-- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
"Like other great documentaries ... this goes after one truth (the Ford administration's complicity in tearing 'orphans' from their mothers) and stumbles upon others even more compelling."
-- Glenn Lovell, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
"It may not be a great piece of filmmaking, but its power comes from its soul's-eye view of how well-meaning patronizing masked a social injustice, at least as represented by this case."
-- Elvis Mitchell, NEW YORK TIMES
"With amazing finesse, the film shadows Heidi's trip back to Vietnam and the city where her mother, Mai Thi Kim, still lives."
-- Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
"Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right: You can't go home again."
-- Michael O'Sullivan, WASHINGTON POST
"It rapidly develops into a gut-wrenching examination of the way cultural differences and emotional expectations collide."
-- John Petrakis, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Poignant if familiar story of a young person suspended between two cultures."
-- Ted Shen, CHICAGO READER
-- Click to read the article.
-- ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "Daughter from Danang" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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