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Fear and Trembling
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    100
    Hilarious.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    90
    Testud, who learned to speak Japanese phonetically for the role, is nothing short of sublime, her expressive face morphing from tear-stained frustration to slaphappy delirium with the speed of lightning flashing across the Tokyo sky.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    88
    Hilarious from first frame to last.
  4. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    88
    Amelie is utterly charming. And so, too, is the film.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    80
    A feverishly compelling film that doesn't force-feed its ideals to its audience.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    80
    Mr. Corneau, an eclectic director with a mildly perverse sensibility, turns the conflict of cultures into a psychodrama that is at once lighthearted and intense.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lisa Nesselson
    80
    Classy, funny cross-cultural adventure is Alain Corneau's most accomplished and entertaining film since 1991's "Tous les matins du monde."
  8. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Curt Fields
    80
    This quietly odd and hilarious tale is a bit like a Japanese version of the popular BBC comedy series "The Office" or perhaps the "Dilbert" comic strip at its peak.
  9. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    80
    Fascinating oddity.
  10. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    May be a sardonic view of Japanese corporate culture, but that's not all it is. The movie is also subtly sexual and erotic, despite the fact that every scene takes place in the office and there is not a single overt sexual act or word or gesture or reference.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    With the exception of Amelie's voiceover narration in French, Fear and Trembling is entirely in Japanese. And the Japanese cast is superb.
  12. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    A marvelous cross between "Secretary" and "Lost in Translation."
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    A sleek and sublimely deadpan comedy of Japanese corporate manners.
  14. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    70
    A dark comedy that reveals the stultifying rigidity of Japanese office life - which the film persuasively suggests endures to this day.
  15. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    63
    The events in this film take place in the 1980s. Let's hope working conditions in Japan have "westernized."
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    63
    As wonderful as Testud is, her character doesn't make much sense.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: David Ng
    40
    A culture-clash comedy that takes the notion of Japanese otherness to ludicrous extremes.
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