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Pauline and Paulette
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Jaak Boon
Lieven Debrauwer
Directed by: Lieven Debrauwer
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 15, 2002
DVD: August 13, 2002
Running Time: 78 minutes, Color
Origin: Belgium / France / Netherlands
Language(s): Flemish (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: PG for brief language
Starring Dora van der Groen, Ann Petersen, Rosemarie Bergmans, Idwig Stephane, Julienne De Bruyn, Camilia Blereau, François Beukelaers, and Nand Buyl
A delightfully bittersweet story of four elderly sisters and their relationship with each other. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
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...
Washington Post Desson Thomson
In this good-natured film, even the smallest efforts at kindness yield positive results.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
At the end, you're refreshed, like Pauline after she swallows an entire soft drink in one gulp, and it feels terrific.
Read Full Review >Variety Lisa Nesselson
Heartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Leslie Camhi
Without condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Rather than assaulting you with self-congratulatory tears, it leaves you with a bittersweet glow of wisdom and an appreciation of the small triumphs and difficult labors of love.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
This beguiling Belgian fable, very much its own droll and delicate little film, has some touching things to say about what is important in life and why.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Barbara Scharres
Might easily have been mawkish; instead it has a light comic edge and a dignity built on the fine characterization of Pauline.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It's a moving tale of love and destruction in unexpected places, unexamined lives.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Debrauwer brings crisp conviction to what might have been an overly sentimental tale, filming it with a straightforward style and good-natured sincerity that ring consistently true.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
With a steady eye and a warm (but never overtly sentimental) heart, it explores a territory where few movies have ventured before.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Simple, poignant and leavened with humor, it's a film that affirms the nourishing aspects of love and companionship.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
van der Groen, described as "Belgium's national treasure," is especially terrific as Pauline.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
They take a mundane story and give it emotional resonance.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
Sentimental and has its heart on its sleeve, but never heavy-handedly so, and its delicacy and tenderness will get to you if you give it half a chance.
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Plumbs the issue of sibling love and family responsibility in quietly powerful ways, and the performances of the two stars surpass convincing to reach a level of biographical realism.
LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
The film's plainness, and the understated force of van der Groen and Petersen's performances, sharpen its complexity of feeling until all mawkishness is cut away.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
A small-scale pleasure, a movie that truly stops and smells the roses.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Marta Barber
With touches of humor throughout, the gentle and peaceful film never becomes depressing or sad.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
There is something disturbing about yet another iteration of what's become one of the movies' creepiest conventions, in which the developmentally disabled are portrayed with almost supernatural powers to humble, teach and ultimately redeem their mentally "superior" (read: morally inferior) friends, family and acquaintances.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Debrauwer's characterization is as sharp and incisive as a butter knife.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Earl M. gave it a9:
A wonderful little movie with great performances by the lead actresses.
Leslie H. gave it a 9:
Un-sentimental, but touching anyway.
CG gave it a 7:
If you want to lean back and relax, this movie is a good one for that. The characters have qualities that are both exasperating and endearing making them really come alive. The subtitles are no problem. The movie is easy to follow.
Michele B. gave it a 9:
Amazing!!
