70
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerAn alternately angry and sad portrait, passionate in its presentation and moving in its portrayal of individuals who sacrifice their love for the tenets of their religion.
- 78Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenRaises fascinating question within a compelling narrative framework, and is also intriguing for the glimpse it provides into the inner workings of Orthodox Judaism.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleBob GrahamSan Francisco ChronicleBob GrahamSlowly unfolding but liberating film, which is also a rare look inside a circumscribed community.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasGitai has created a film that is as beautiful as it is all but unbearable to watch.
- 70Film.comTom KeoghFilm.comTom KeoghIt is unusually but effectively organized as an almost unbroken chain of intimacies between the small and large players in this story.
- 70L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorThis unusually classical story from experimental Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai flows along, suffused in a quiet beauty flecked with sober foreboding.
- 67Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyIf it happens to lose you as you wander through this strange land, at least it does so to the accompaniment of captivating visuals and music.
- 63Miami HeraldMiami HeraldIt moves slowly, but you suspect that is the way of life in Mea Shearim, the closed quarters of a group that triggered Gitai's respect and our curiosity.
- 60Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorIt's hard to tell whether these characters are meant to seem as staunchly symbolic as they do when they deliver some of the back-story-heavy dialogue.
- 60Film.comJohn HartlFilm.comJohn HartlGitai, a veteran documentary director, refuses to find an easy resolution to the story, and that will frustrate as many people as it pleases.