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Blind Mountain
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
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  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    Twenty years ago, Li's film might have served as a warning; today, it rues a dehumanizing economic system run rampant that leaves one sad slave wife to muse, "It's easy to die. It's living that's hard."
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    80
    This is a resolutely tough-minded, beautifully crafted film so compelling as to make bearable watching the nearly unbearable.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    75
    Li's story is lean and economical, but deeply harrowing, as Xuemei--sympathetically played by debuting performer Huang Lu, the only classically trained actor in a cast of non-professionals--clings to her courage and tries again and again to escape.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    A stinging and frightening indictment of mainland China.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    75
    A potent drama from Yang Li, one of China's Sixth Generation filmmakers noted for the stark realism and documentary feeling of their work.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    70
    The film's economical style, vivid cinematography and tremendous acting should attract audiences far and wide.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    70
    Blind Mountain is a reminder that art sometimes keeps the truth alive far better than the news.
  8. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    67
    Blind Mountain would be better-served by more touches of universality, as in the scene where a neighbor woman comforts Huang by saying, "All women go through this." That scene flirts with metaphor. The rest of the film too often descends into harangue.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    50
    Low on drama and originality, and high on deja vu, sophomore outing by writer-director Li Yang ("Blind Shaft," 2003).
  10. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    40
    Blind Mountain forces its way through numerous illogicalities and several plot lapses to a violently abrupt ending.
  11. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    30
    The movie not only indicts the country's embrace of capitalism by showing how low people will sink to make money, it also denigrates the agrarian class--once celebrated as heroic under Mao--by portraying its members as illiterate barbarians concerned only with continuing their family lines.
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User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. GalenF.
    8
    Do not use my name, first or last. Utterly real. Hard to forget.
  2. MikeT
    9
    An extremely well-made film, at once tense, invigorating, and deeply depressing.
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