Since Otar Left
Metascore
85 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    Everything about this subtly directed drama enhances its pathos and humor, especially an astonishing performance by Gorintin, a 90-something woman only a few years into her acting career.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    100
    At turns funny, sweet, sad, trenchant and telling. It's a gem.
  3. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    100
    The last minutes of the film are exhilarating, but its real triumph is in everything that precedes the ending--the relatively simple lives of the three women up to that point.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    Superb family drama.
  5. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    90
    The kind of small film -- morally ambiguous, graceful in its admission of imperfect knowledge, at once specific and universal -- that expands our understanding of the emotional economy of family life, with its ebb and flow of love and hostility, secrecy and egregious candor. You must see this film.
  6. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    90
    If Otar is, finally, a mite thin and predictably structured, that takes little away from the filmmaker and her cast, who work hard at fashioning the most outlandish special effect of all: believable human life.
    All this critic's reviews
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    Working with excellent site-specific music and this trio of exemplary -- and exceptionally well-cast -- actresses, director Bertuccelli does a superb job of touching just the right emotional notes in recounting the consequences of deception and the importance of family.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    90
    Sustains a perfect balance of pathos, humor and a clear-headed realism. One tiny misstep, and it could have tumbled into an abyss of tears.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: David Stratton
    90
    The film is traditionally and effectively made; it also is superbly acted.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    90
    A small film of surpassing beauty and sadness. Yet its bittersweet flavor isn't artificial, but rather the product of the slow ripening of character.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    88
    Though Bertuccelli's film orbits around a lie, the story is really less about deception and suspense than it is a moving portrait of female and familial bonds.
  12. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    88
    Bertucelli nails it.
  13. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    88
    What an amazing presence Gorintin has. Never mind her hunched back and white hair, she's no crone. She makes Eka needy for happiness but susceptible to heartbreak. It's a great performance, full of both joy and the quiet, disappointing parts of being alive that come with knowing change is part of life.
  14. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    83
    This combination of fatalism, nostalgia and willfully naive optimism captures something essential in the Russian soul.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. OsG.
    10
    One of the most intimate and moving films I've seen. Beautifully fimed, fabulously real acting and I'm not ashamed to say it made me bawl.
  2. BobS.
    10
    Incredible writing and acting that nail raw emotional nerves in the viewer. Masterful acting that will hold you teetering in suspense on the verge of bawling.… Full Review »
  3. EarlM.
    10
    A superb film above love and family. Esther Gorintin is a wonder as are the other 2 female leads. A do not miss film.
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