Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country

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Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country

Released May 20, 2009

1h 24m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

62 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Thousands of citizens of Myanmar take to the streets in several cities to protest the Asian nation's repressive regime. The protests take on a new degree of seriousness when dozens of monks launch their own marches down city streets. This documentary from Anders Ostergaard focuses on the work of videographers and citizen journalists who defy the government's crackdown on the media -- a brave bunch who manage to transmit footage of the uprising to the outside world.

Critics Consensus

A powerfully visceral docu-drama highlighting the evils of censorship and the essential need for freedom of speech.

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Leslie Felperin

Variety

Burma VJ celebrates the courage of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a group of underground journalists who risked their lives to document the 2007 uprising against the junta.

Dec 15, 2009

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Rob Nelson

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Burma VJ would be even more intense without its early announcement that some scenes have been restaged, putting the viewer in a regrettably uncertain relationship to what follows.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 17, 2009

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

Narrated by a frightened journalist who trembles as he accumulates forbidden footage and provides a historical viewpoint, "Burma VJ" uses shocking video images and reconstructed scenes to create a coherent, mostly chronological account of what happened.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 27, 2009

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

A fascinating, important documentary, and one that manages to highlight just how powerful the media can be.

Rated: 4/5

May 7, 2024

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The National (UAE)

It's powerful stuff. The story of the uprising is well told and seems balanced. It's also an important film in terms of cinema as it illustrates a major shift in the way documentaries are made.

Nov 1, 2018

Full Review

Mike Edwards

What Culture

No matter how many times anyone tries to appropriate shaky camera techniques, they'll never recreate anything as real as a reporter fleeing heavily armed police.

Rated: 4.5/5

Mar 1, 2011

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Audience Member

the moment when you can't speak.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Audience Member

A doc. about brave reporters in Burma that risk their lives to get the truth out about the brutality of the police state.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A film I really liked until I thought a bit about it and which I still want to like. This film is so stuffed with recreated and redramatized scenes that it's a bit difficult to take seriously as a documentary. So heavily edited to stay on a very specific message, but still leaving tons of interesting (and obvious) questions not only unanswered but unasked, I found it to be one of the most disappointing films on Burma I've seen to date.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Powerful. Wonderful coverage of a truly brave social movement. Inspires hope!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The most inspiring piece of documentary cinema ever made.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

excellent and a powerful reminder of times past in burma

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

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Anders Østergaard

Director

George W. Bush

Self

Aung San Suu Kyi

Self

Jan Krogsgaard

Screenwriter

Anders Østergaard

Screenwriter

Lise Lense-Møller

Producer

Critics Consensus: Terminator, Night Are So-So Sequels

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Synopsis

Thousands of citizens of Myanmar take to the streets in several cities to protest the Asian nation's repressive regime. The protests take on a new degree of seriousness when dozens of monks launch their own marches down city streets. This documentary from Anders Ostergaard focuses on the work of videographers and citizen journalists who defy the government's crackdown on the media -- a brave bunch who manage to transmit footage of the uprising to the outside world.

Director: Anders Østergaard
Producer: Lise Lense-Møller
Screenwriter: Jan Krogsgaard, Anders Østergaard
Distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co: Magic Hour Films ApS, Mediamente, Kamoli Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.4K
Runtime: 1h 24m

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