Butler's Cinema Scene

“SOMEWHERE BETWEEN” My rating: C+  (Opening Nov. 2 at the Tivoli)

88 minutes | No MPAA rating

The adolescent girls who are the focus of the documentary “Somewhere Between” often refer to themselves as Oreos: White on the inside, yellow (or Chinese) on the outside.

Linda Goldstein Knowlton’s documentary concentrates on four girls born in China, abandoned by their parents (China’s one-child-per-family policy has pushed thousands of couples to give up their female offspring until a more-prized boy comes along) and adopted by Americans.

In most respects these girls (they’re not young women yet, though a couple exhibit a maturity far beyond their years) are thoroughly Americanized. They tend to be high achievers. One is a fervent Christian. Another is determined to be the first Chinese-American to perform on the stage of the Grand Ol’ Opry.

But they’re still children, emotionally vulnerable and, despite their happy circumstances, torn by the fact that they weren’t wanted by their birth parents.

The film runs on two parallel tracks. There’s the story of their lives in the U.S.: birthday parties, church services, sports, academics, boyfriends.

And then there are the efforts (often hopeless, but sometimes remarkably successful) of these girls to discover their birth parents back in China. In at least one case this results in a girl discovering her father, two older sisters and a little brother.

We meet an adoptive mother who has launched a charity to send relief aid to abandoned children in China and spend time on a European tour sponsored by a worldwide support organization for adopted Chinese girls.

My main problem with “Somewhere Between” is not with the information it imparts, but in the relative dryness of the delivery. Knowlton exhibits competance but not much real inspiration.

Still, for families that have adopted Chinese girls or are thinking of doing so, the film is required viewing.

| Robert W. Butler