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This is the review of the Stoning of Soraya M, starring Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marnò, James Caviezel, Navid Negahban, Ali Pourtash, David Diaan, Parviz Sayyad, Vida Ghahremani and Vachik Mangassarian. The film is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh. When thinking of a film that shows bravery and heroism, and a battle between the power-hungry, and those that fight for truth, any number of blockbuster movies may spring to mind. Yet the heroism and bravery in this film does not have a CGI background, nor does it have futuristic gadgets or fast cars. But what this film has more than any other I have seen in recent years, if ever before, is a soul. The Stoning of Soraya M tells the story of the true events leading up to the stoning of an innocent woman in Iran in 1986. It is only because of the bravery and heroism of Soraya’s aunt, Zahra,...

Director Wayne Wang, best known for his adaptation of Amy Tan’s celebrated novel The Joy Luck Club, has kept himself at the forefront of Asian-oriented filmmakers even while making a variety of crowd-pleasing commercial films (Maid in Manhattan, Last Holiday). This collection of two of his latest films, both low-budget works shot on HD, is a great way to get acquainted with a unique filmmaker of considerable skill. Although the films vary in quality of both filmmaking and performance, there is no denying both pose interesting questions about Chinese or general Asian identity and their place in and outside of China.

The stronger of the two films, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, is a meticulous study of character. In the film, an aging Mr. Shi travels to America to visit his daughter Yilan, recently estranged form her husband. Mr. Shi is played by Henry O, until now relegated...

Director Wayne Wang, best known for his adaptation of Amy Tan’s celebrated novel The Joy Luck Club, has kept himself at the forefront of Asian-oriented filmmakers even while making a variety of crowd-pleasing commercial films (Maid in Manhattan, Last Holiday). This collection of two of his latest films, both low-budget works shot on HD, is a great way to get acquainted with a unique filmmaker of considerable skill. Although the films vary in quality of both filmmaking and performance, there is no denying both pose interesting questions about Chinese or general Asian identity and their place in and outside of China.

The stronger of the two films, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, is a meticulous study of character. In the film, an aging Mr. Shi travels to America to visit his daughter Yilan, recently estranged form her husband. Mr. Shi is played by Henry O, until now relegated...

By Aaron Hillis

Since the '90s, Hong Kong-born filmmaker Wayne Wang has directed large-scale Hollywood productions like "The Joy Luck Club" and "Maid in Manhattan," though his richest films have really been his smaller projects, like "Smoke" and its companion work, "Blue in the Face." Going back to the earliest days of his career, Wang was at his most personal and independent with films like 1982's "Chan is Missing" and 1985's "Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart," and it's these stories of the immigrant experience that Wang felt obliged to return to, having moved to America as a teenager.

Winner of four awards at the San Sebastián Film Festival, including best film, Wang's distinctly modest delight "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" is the first of his two films adapted by author Yiyun Li from her own collection of Chinese-American-themed stories. (The second is "The Princess of Nebraska,...