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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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You, the Living
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Abouna
EMAILPRINTLeisure Time Features

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 10 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Directed by: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 20, 2004
DVD: May 17, 2005
Running Time: 84 minutes, Color
Origin: France / Chad
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ahidjo Mahamat Moussa, Hamza Moctar Aguid, Zara Haroun, Mounira Khalil, and Hassan Boulama
Set in the sub-Saharan country of Chad, this is the story of two young brothers and their mother who are devastated when their father suddenly disappears.
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Poignant though it is, the movie is the opposite of depressing. There is too much life in it.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Haroun is deft at handling the joys and pain of childhood. He neither condescends nor over-sentimentalizes. It is a story of separation anxiety (for Amine) and coming of age (for Tahir) and it's universal.
Read Full Review >Variety David Stratton
Haroun's film is both touching and, ultimately, almost perversely optimistic.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michael Atkinson
By way of a tragic left hook, Haroun's relaxed movie climaxes back where it began, on the devastated home ground. The journey, however pessimistic, is like a gentle handshake.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Haroun and cinematographer Abraham Haile Biru carefully frame their characters with a painterly elegance that is at times truly startling.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
The story of the film is a quiet local tale; the directing is sophisticated.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Abouna starkly defines the masculine and feminine influence in raising children, and what happens when they're not so complementary.
Read Full Review >New York Post Megan Lehmann
This modest little film out of Africa suffers from largely rudderless direction, relying for any sense of profundity on the breathtaking beauty of Abraham Haile Biru's cinematography.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
M. Daye gave it a10:
Sometimes silence can say so much more than blocks of mawkish dialogue. Brilliantly-acted and wonderfully shot.
Moeder D. gave it an8:
Understated, beguiling, and gorgeously filmed; more heart than you'll see in any Hollywood blockbuster this year.
