Up the Yangtze (2007)
90%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 14 wins & 11 nominations
Up the Yangtze is a visually stunning meditation about the changes confronting modern China.
Up the Yangtze is a documentary that explores the impact of modernization on China’s longest river, and it’s a real eye-opener. The film doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of progress, but it also manages to find moments of beauty and hope amidst the tragedy. It’s a poignant reminder that every choice we make has consequences, and that we need to think carefully about the kind of world we want to create. Plus, the scenery is absolutely stunning – it’s worth watching just for the breathtaking shots of the river and the surrounding landscape. Overall, Up the Yangtze is a must-see for anyone interested in the intersection of culture, politics, and the environment.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Zeitgeist
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
China
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English, Mandarin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 25, 2008 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 7, 2008
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, China, Three Gorges Dam, modernization, economy, construction, displacement, families, teenagers, cruise lines, Yangtze River, consumer capitalism, society, progress, government, critic reviews, Yung Chang, directed by Yung Chang, written by Yung Chang, box office, Zeitgeist, produced by Zeitgeist, MPAA rating, English, genre, budget, reviewed by David Fear, Hank Sartin, Richard Nilsen, Tirdad Derakhshani, John Hartl, Michael O’Sullivan, Mattie Lucas, Louis Proyect, Kelly Vance, Jeffrey Overstreet, Nora Lee Mandel, Sarah Boslaugh, audience score, runtime, distributor, starring Chen Bo Yu, Yu Shi
Worldwide gross: $1,029,211
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,417,699
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,510
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 154,602
US/Canada gross: $783,969
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,079,887
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,168
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,851
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,834
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,486
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): CA$1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Yung Chang – Writer
Director(s)
Yung Chang
Writer(s)
Yung Chang
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
14 wins & 11 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (2)
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
David Fear
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Hank Sartin
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The movie never editorializes; it simply presents. It is tragedy, not statistics.
July 10, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Myth and reality, past and present, tradition and progress go head to head in Yung Chang’s remarkable documentary about China’s longest river, Up the Yangtze.
July 3, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tirdad Derakhshani
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The tone is finally one of wistful resignation.
June 27, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
There’s plenty for the director to focus on. Examining the dam’s environmental impact alone would take another whole movie. Instead, [director] Yung trains his lens mainly on the cultural impact.
June 26, 2008
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
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.
July 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
Modernization is a double-edged sword as this superb documentary illustrates.
July 7, 2012
Louis Proyect
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Up the Yangtze drips with irony, something only the rich can afford.
August 15, 2011
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express
Yung gets to the broken heart of a dying culture by conveying the impact of the dam on two individuals affected by, and participating in, the government’s vision for ‘progress.’
December 12, 2008 | Rating: A
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Very visually documents the human cost of the abrupt changes in the Chinese economy, and intimately into the sociological changes wrought by the astounding Three Gorges Dam.
November 21, 2008 | Rating: 9/10
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com
A cruise on the Yangtze, site of the Three Gorges Dam (the largest hydroelectric project in the world) is a fitting metaphor for the promise and cost of China’s rapid modernization.
September 19, 2008 | Rating: 8/10
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl…
Plot
A luxury cruise boat motors up the Yangtze – navigating the mythic waterway known in China simply as “The River.” The Yangtze is about to be transformed by the biggest hydroelectric dam in history. At the river’s edge – a young woman says goodbye to her family as the floodwaters rise towards their small homestead. The Three Gorges Dam – contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle – provides the epic backdrop for Up the Yangtze, a dramatic feature documentary on life inside modern China.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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