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Pauline and Paulette
Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 23
  3. Negative: 2 out of 23
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  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    90
    In this good-natured film, even the smallest efforts at kindness yield positive results.
  2. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    At the end, you're refreshed, like Pauline after she swallows an entire soft drink in one gulp, and it feels terrific.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    80
    Without condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    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.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    80
    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.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lisa Nesselson
    80
    Heartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
  7. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Bill Gallo
    80
    Disturbing, beautifully acted movie.
  8. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Barbara Scharres
    80
    Might easily have been mawkish; instead it has a light comic edge and a dignity built on the fine characterization of Pauline.
  9. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    It's a moving tale of love and destruction in unexpected places, unexamined lives.
  10. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    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.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    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.
    All this critic's reviews
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    They take a mundane story and give it emotional resonance.
  13. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Simple, poignant and leavened with humor, it's a film that affirms the nourishing aspects of love and companionship.
  14. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    75
    van der Groen, described as "Belgium's national treasure," is especially terrific as Pauline.
  15. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    75
    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.
    All this critic's reviews
  16. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Ray Conlogue
    75
    What a graceful movie this is.
  17. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    75
    With a steady eye and a warm (but never overtly sentimental) heart, it explores a territory where few movies have ventured before.
  18. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    The result is something truly special.
  19. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    70
    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.
  20. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    67
    A small-scale pleasure, a movie that truly stops and smells the roses.
  21. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    50
    With touches of humor throughout, the gentle and peaceful film never becomes depressing or sad.
  22. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    30
    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.
  23. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    20
    Debrauwer's characterization is as sharp and incisive as a butter knife.
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