Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land 2008

Critics score:
97 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

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. Read more

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com: In traditional terms, this is hardly a film at all. It's more like a bootlegged YouTube video. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Even as the news-gathering apparatus in the US and elsewhere falters under the weight of new technology and outdated business models, Burma VJ is a fresh reminder that reporters can and must serve as a necessary Paine in the rear. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Burma VJ -- for video journalist -- is filmmaking at its most fearless, with [director] Ostergaard creating a suspenseful, harrowing account of his original key subject, known only as 'Joshua.' Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Anyone who doubts that a single individual can make a political impact should see Anders Ostergaard's gripping documentary. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: The news footage, so powerful on its own, needs no enhancement. The dramatized scenes only slow the film's momentum. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Burma VJ documents the work of such courageous journalists, who, at the risk of imprisonment or worse, film antigovernment activities using small consumer cameras. Read more

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. Read more

Michael Posner, Globe and Mail: Although directed by Denmark's Anders Ostergaard, the true heroes of Burma VJ are the cadres of guerrilla video journalists who secretly filmed the junta's brutal suppression of the popular revolt in the fall of 2007. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: An awe-inspiring documentary by Denmark's Anders Ostergaard that tracks how the news escaped in 2007 during Burma's civil uprising. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Embedded within this meta-testament to the brave Burmese souls who risk all is a reminder that, in our era of info overload (too much imagery, too many screens!), technology is the next-gen frontier for fighting oppression. Read more

Tom Huddlestone, Time Out: It's a flawlessly constructed piece of work, as relentlessly gripping as it is educational, a righteous and even uplifting paean to the continued importance of collective protest. Read more

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. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: A roller coaster of alternating hope and despair. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Thanks to the new guerrilla narrative, the world has a constant flow of images to file in its collective consciousness. And that camera-testable accountability slowly becomes a global civic right that fulfills the noblest purpose of journalism. Read more