Metascore
25 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Negative: 6 out of 11
  1. Wilder's created world is alive with his erudition, his sympathy for his characters in their loneliness and flawed goodness. This film doesn't do him justice but it's a gesture in the right direction.
  2. Ultimately comes across as a soporific costume drama featuring a gallery of miscast stars.
  3. 50
    Though handsomely mounted, this parable of intersecting destinies and implacable tragedy is as lifeless as a wax tableau.
  4. 40
    An honorable but dull attempt to translate a neglected literary source to the screen.
  5. 40
    The stellar cast can do little to paper over the cracks in an awkward, unevenly-paced script that is composed of a series of sometimes-attractive scenes with little emotional undertow.
  6. May be the opposite of trash, but it is something just as disposable: dead literary meat. Dragged down by a stuffy screenplay clotted with generic period oratory, overdressed to the point that the actors seem physically impeded by their ornate costumes, and hopelessly muddled in its storytelling, the movie is edited with a haphazardness that leaves many dots unconnected.
  7. Rates an inquisition of its own. It may not be heresy to fill out an ensemble cast of Peruvian and Spanish characters almost exclusively with non-Hispanic actors, but it certainly destroys any sense of authenticity.
  8. The script and direction by Irish filmmaker Mary McGuckian is just deadly.
  9. After watching this movie, which stars Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Kathy Bates and Gabriel Byrne, I was moved only to find my own bridge to leap from.
  10. This all-star Euro-indie is stultifyingly torturous.
  11. 0
    "I am surrounded by oceans of boredom," the campy Abraham complains at one point. It's a sentiment audiences are bound to share.
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 5 out of 9
  1. kA
    9
    I was so touched, enough to do online search on the book and the movie. It is disappointing to read the critics rating, and refreshing to see that many viewers enjoyed it. It is touching..the cast are first rate..the story is deep..the cinematography is stunning. Full Review »
  2. TerryS.
    10
    I am amazed at the low rating that this movie has received. I thought it was lovely in every aspect. And oddly enough it followed the book almost perfectly. Beautifully done. Full Review »
  3. WillJ.
    2
    Meh... I watched an hour of this bull crap... story so dry, and, uneventful. Got a good laugh out of the costumes, Cathy Bates looked like an unplucked turkey. Full Review »