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67A small-scale pleasure, a movie that truly stops and smells the roses.
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75Sentimental 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.
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Might easily have been mawkish; instead it has a light comic edge and a dignity built on the fine characterization of Pauline.
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75It's a moving tale of love and destruction in unexpected places, unexamined lives.
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75Debrauwer 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.
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70The 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.
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80This 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.
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50With touches of humor throughout, the gentle and peaceful film never becomes depressing or sad.
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80Disturbing, beautifully acted movie.
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75Plumbs 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.
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75They take a mundane story and give it emotional resonance.
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75Simple, poignant and leavened with humor, it's a film that affirms the nourishing aspects of love and companionship.
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83At the end, you're refreshed, like Pauline after she swallows an entire soft drink in one gulp, and it feels terrific.
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75van der Groen, described as "Belgium's national treasure," is especially terrific as Pauline.
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75With a steady eye and a warm (but never overtly sentimental) heart, it explores a territory where few movies have ventured before.
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20Debrauwer's characterization is as sharp and incisive as a butter knife.
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75What a graceful movie this is.
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80Rather 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.
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70The result is something truly special.
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80Heartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
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80Without condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
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90In this good-natured film, even the smallest efforts at kindness yield positive results.
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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.
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EarlM.9A wonderful little movie with great performances by the lead actresses.