Overview
A mother's fierce love drives her to reclaim her son and their identity in a changing world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- intimate
- gritty
- melancholic
- reflective movie night
- indie film evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised A. V. Rockwell’s assured debut, Teyana Taylor’s commanding performance, and its emotionally resonant portrait of a mother-son bond shaped by systemic hardship.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Inez kidnaps Terry from foster care and repeatedly prioritizes keeping him with her despite legal and personal consequences.
The family’s changing circumstances unfold against New York’s transformation during the 1990s and 2000s.
Terry is portrayed at ages six, thirteen, and as a young adult while the mother-son relationship develops over roughly a decade.
New York’s streets, foster-care system, poverty, crime, and gentrification directly shape Inez and Terry’s search for stability.
Films like A Thousand and One, and why
If Beale Street Could Talk
socially conscious urban drama centered on poverty, family bonds, race, and structural inequality
The Florida Project
intimate mother-child relationship shaped by poverty, housing insecurity, and institutional pressures
Moonlight
raw coming-of-age drama examining race, identity, masculinity, and changing urban neighborhoods
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
emotionally grounded independent drama about family loyalty and economic precarity in New York
Movie Details
- Director
- A.V. Rockwell
- Release Date
- 2023-03-31
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (160)
Cast
- Teyana Taylor
- William Catlett
- Josiah Cross
- Aven Courtney
- Aaron Kingsley Adetola
- Terri Abney
- Delissa Reynolds
- Amelia Workman
- Adriane Lenox
- Mark Gessner
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Thousand and One about?
- A fiercely protective mother risks everything to keep her son close while they struggle to build a home amid New York’s poverty, crime, and transformation.
- What is A Thousand and One like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Thousand and One as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Thousand and One violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Thousand and One as mild.
- What did critics think of A Thousand and One?
- Critics broadly praised A. V. Rockwell’s assured debut, Teyana Taylor’s commanding performance, and its emotionally resonant portrait of a mother-son bond shaped by systemic hardship.
- Which films are like A Thousand and One?
- Films with a similar feel include If Beale Street Could Talk, The Florida Project, Moonlight, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
- How long is A Thousand and One?
- A Thousand and One runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Thousand and One?
- In United States, A Thousand and One streams on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus.
