Japan
  • Studio: Tartan
  • Release Date: Mar 19, 2003
User Score
5.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9

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  1. VinceH.
    Sep 14, 2004
    10
    If you are a fan of long-take, slow paced but beautiful films of directors like Abbas Kiarostami, Andrei Tarkovsky, Hou Hsiao-hsen, Tsai Ming-Liang & Manuel De Oliveira then you will love this movie. One of the most amazing films I've ever seen. The way Reygadas uses the widescreen camera is amazing and the much-touted last scene is one of the most amazing travelling shots ever composed on film. No joke. … Expand
  2. TJ
    Feb 17, 2006
    10
    This director is brilliant. It is an extremely slow film, but the director's eye is astonishing and he gives you a great sense of being in Mexico. If you like mainstream movies, stay away. If you like Antonioni and other dreamy, existential directors then check it out.
  3. Engin
    Apr 24, 2003
    9
    The immensely powerful closing tracking shot should be enough of a reason to see this mesmerizing fable. I welcome Carlos Reygadas to the soon-to-be-one-of-the-greatest directors hall. May he continue making amazing films like his first one...

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    70
    Reygadas is both a sophisticate and a primitive: He sets up his film as a religious allegory, with the nameless painter as a kind of suffering Christ and the old woman--whose name is Ascen, as in Ascension--as his redeemer.
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  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    70
    A dense, challenging work by any measure, Japón snakes toward a justly celebrated final shot that's technically astonishing and immensely powerful, cementing the arrival of a promising new talent.
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  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    88
    Doesn't have the crossover appeal of the Mexican sexcapade "Y Tu Mama Tambien," but it does herald the arrival of an audacious young filmmaker. We can't wait to see what he does next.
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