Press

The following is a collection of selected press releases and articles related to our artist Thavisouk Phrasavath and his latest film work:
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

“Exquisitely beautiful and emotionally compelling.”
– Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“A moving, lyrical, 23-years-in-the-making epic. Packs an emotional wallop.”
– David Ansen, Newsweek

“The Betrayal is a powerful work of anthropology.”
– David D’Arcy, Screen Daily

“The subjects addressed in The Betrayal could hardly be more enormous: war, revolution, the abandonment of a nation and the scattering of its citizens. But the film, though it includes old news clips of the war in Laos and of American presidents discussing that country’s fate, is distinguished by an intimate mood and a lyrical tone. It is quiet, contemplative and impressionistic, which makes the story it has to tell all the more powerful.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Lyrical, expansive, unbearably beautiful.”
– David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Editor’s Choice [Four Stars] “A moving triumph of non-fiction filmmaking. A haunting, powerful documentary, this is highly recommended.”
– Video Librarian

“Stunning. Life-affirming in the best possible way.”
– Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle

“Resolutely gripping! Brings an affecting personal dimension to a sprawling sociopolitical narrative, intimately detailing how the agendas designed to advance the interests of nations can destroy individual lives.”
– Scott Foundas, Variety

“A shimmering, absorbing experience that’s both specific and general, both concrete and abstract. It’s about one Laotian family in Brooklyn and about almost every immigrant family everywhere in the country, about the allure of America and its often ugly reality.”
– Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com

“An almost sinfully beautiful movie about ugly global realities. A rare new documentary that really belongs on the big screen.”
– Dennis Harvey, SF Bay Guardian

“The Betrayal is refined, even delicate, filmmaking… A haunting flashback to the lush green and fiery orange phantasmagoria of wartime Indochina. Impressionistic and lyrical, as well as somber and gripping, The Betrayal conveys a ceaseless flow. It’s as if the filmmaker has opened a window onto a parallel world traveling beside our own.”
– J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

“Highly recommended for both public and academic collections. Deeply moving, inspiring yet at times heart wrenching. A skillful blend of archival footage, still images, pastoral scenes and cinéma verité, enhanced with Howard Shore’s exquisitely lyrical, haunting musical score, it is an extraordinary journey into the life and soul of a family.”
– Educational Media Reviews Online

“A thoughtfully crafted feat of storytelling. Touches the heart.”
– Mina Hochberg, AM-NY

“A tale of this magnitude has to be told.”
– Matthew Nestel, Box Office Magazine

2009 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE
“THE BETRAYAL”
ON DVD SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

“A potent suspense drama.”
– David Stratton, Variety

“This is a filmmaker – one of the most exciting to come from his country
since the heyday of the New German Cinema -
whose name critics should be shouting from the rooftops.”
– Scott Foundas, Village Voice