The Betrayal - Nerakhoon (2008)
American Documentary, POV

Description

Shot over the course of 23 years. Thavi narrates his own story as a child surviving the Vietnam war and then as a young man struggling to overcome the hardships of immigrant life, an experience shared with his mother in war.

Thavisouk’s unforgettable journey reminds us of the strength necessary to survive and of the human spirit’s inspiring capacity to adapt, rebuild, and forgive.

Tags

Oscar nomination, Laos, Vietnam War, Immigration

Collected reviews and ratings

10 Cinematical | Kim Vonyar

Thavi's story is about love, family, culture, betrayal, struggle, and, ultimately, survival and triumph, making Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) a powerful tale with a heart and soul you won't soon forget.
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10 The Village Voice | J Hoberman

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.
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10 PopMatters.com | Cynthia Fuchs

The film resonates for a future as yet unknown as it looks back on events obscured by history and media images.
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10 Los Angeles Times | Sheri Linden

"The time will come when the universe will break," according to one Lao prophecy. From the shards we have this work of indelible lyricism.
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10 The Documentary Blog | Jay C

I must admit the first 20 minutes had me thinking I was in for a historical docu-drama. Little did I know that this massive framework, the Laotian war, was simply the groundwork for what is likely the most touching human drama I’ll see this year.
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8.3 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

The past-and-present layering is a lot more resonant - and less sketchy - than the film's theme of ''betrayal,'' both familial and governmental.
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8.0 New York Times | A.O. Scott

A complicated, sometimes tragic chronicle emerges in “The Betrayal,” but the film is driven less by chronology or plot than by the expressive counterpoint of words, music and images.
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8.0 Salon.com | Andrew O'Hehir

In blending home movies, newsreel footage, cinéma-vérité observation and Phrasavath's occasional, rueful narration, the filmmakers have created a shimmering, absorbing experience that's both specific and general, both concrete and abstract.
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8.0 Variety | Scott Foundas

Though an admirable attempt to allow the characters to tell their own story in their own voices, docu may be a bit too freely associative, as it becomes difficult at times to identify individual characters and the precise order of events. Pic's second half, which proceeds in a more linear fashion, is resolutely gripping.
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7.5 New York Post | V. A. Musetto

"The Betrayal" is a potent mix of archival footage, talking heads and visually arresting montages.
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6.7 Time Out | Melissa Anderson

Recounting the harrowing journey of her subject, Thavisouk Phrasavath, born in war-ravaged Laos in the late ’60s, Kuras is not interested in a detached portrait of suffering.
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6.0 Film Journal International | Maria Garcia

Failing to deliver on historical context and on a nuanced picture of the family’s displacement, The Betrayal is unfortunately more a picture of liberal hand-wringing than social commentary.
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