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Up the Yangtze

Play trailer Poster for Up the Yangtze Released Apr 25, 2008 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
This documentary examine China's rapidly changing economy by focusing on the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. For the government, the dam stands as a symbol of progress; but it displaces hundreds of families during its creation. Following local teenagers Chen Bo Yu and Yu Shi, who work on one of the Western cruise lines that sails up the Yangtze near the dam, the film details the friction in Chinese society as its citizens struggle with the realities of its new consumer capitalism.

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Up the Yangtze

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Critics Consensus

Up the Yangtze is a visually stunning meditation about the changes confronting modern China.

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Critics Reviews

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David Fear Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Richard Nilsen Arizona Republic The movie never editorializes; it simply presents. It is tragedy, not statistics. Rated: 4/5 Jul 10, 2008 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row A poignant reminder of the human, natural, and historical cost of technological advancement, where the price is not only tangible, but the very soul of a nation. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 6, 2019 Full Review Louis Proyect rec.arts.movies.reviews Modernization is a double-edged sword as this superb documentary illustrates. Jul 7, 2012 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express Up the Yangtze drips with irony, something only the rich can afford. Aug 15, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This doc came highly recommended so I was really looking forward to it. But it was much much too slow for my liking. It felt like everything was drawn out. I didn't finish it. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Up the Yangtze: 7 out of 10: Yung Chang's documentary follows two young people who get a job on a tourist boat as the water in their province rises due to the completion of the massive Three Gorges Dam. Some documentaries sneak up on both a person and a filmmaker. I don't know exactly what type of film Yung Chang set out to make when he went to China during the completion of the Three Gorges Dam but he wisely tossed the script for an intimate portrait into an illiterate dirt poor family scratching a living on the soon to disappear banks of the river. Relatable is the surprising keyword I have for this film. Many of us remember our first jobs away from home and many will find both the overconfidence of the male singer and the shyness and attitude of the sixteen-year-old female dishwasher extremely familiar in others and in possibly themselves. Many of us, with great shame, may also relate to the clueless tourists aboard in their oversized Western glory. (In all fairness I have seen Chinese tour groups in Orlando trying to queue and that would make quite the documentary as well) If you are actually looking for a film about the Three Gorges Dam and the social, economic and environmental toll it has taken I have a feeling you may go away disappointed. This is a rather intimate story about a poor family with some additional commentary on another young man and occasional trips with the tourists on the boat. Up the Yangtze is a wonderful visit with some young people starting out in life with all the overconfidence and fears that entails mixed with a turbulent time. It is also a very perceptive film willing to take a bite out of both over the top Chinese propaganda and plump elderly western tourists. I enjoyed my brief visit to this world. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Poignant heart wrenching POV Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member a total must-see! loved everything about it. deeply moving piece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Documentary on the effects of building a hydroelectric dam and flooding part of the Yangtze. Sad to see the people displaced. But interesting to see how some of the people attempt to better their situation by working for the rich tourists on a cruise boat. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Didn't really do it for me. Any documentary with that much coverage of ostensibly spontaneous events seems problematic. I guess I was just spoiled by Werner Herzog. Parts are compelling, but the whole thing just sprawls on and on. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis This documentary examine China's rapidly changing economy by focusing on the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. For the government, the dam stands as a symbol of progress; but it displaces hundreds of families during its creation. Following local teenagers Chen Bo Yu and Yu Shi, who work on one of the Western cruise lines that sails up the Yangtze near the dam, the film details the friction in Chinese society as its citizens struggle with the realities of its new consumer capitalism.
Director
Yung Chang
Screenwriter
Yung Chang
Distributor
Zeitgeist
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 25, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$783.4K
Runtime
1h 33m
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