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100A small gem.
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100Unfolds with the serenity of a fable but underneath it draws intelligent, deeply troubled connections between the personal, political, and spiritual.
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90Easily one of the finest pictures of 2003 or any other year.
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75For all its tumult, The Clay Bird mostly concentrates on its likable characters, all acted with the kind of understatement that makes a good film better.
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75From folk festivals to political rallies, Masud never overlooks the cultural and emotional elements of a country at a crossroads.
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75The intolerance and inflexibility that marked the Taliban's brutal rule takes a solid hit in this lovely import from Bangladesh.
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It has a quiet thoughtfulness that never comes close to being draggy, and a wisdom that is anything but obtuse. It's a film of many themes.
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75The earthy imagery is delicate while the drama is oddly elliptical, creating a lovely film of storybook images and parables. It's both obvious and elusive and, historical specifics aside, almost timeless.
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70Ultimately stronger on characterization and atmosphere than narrative. But its portrait of a society torn apart by, among other things, religious fundamentalism, is all too currently resonant.
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70The film draws careful parallels between orthodoxies and in his own quiet way, Masud, a devout Muslim, level his critique at repressive political regimes and religious doctrines, and those who dangerously confuse one with the other.
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The film's critique of Islam is offered without rancor, and it's evident that Masud loves all his characters, whatever their viewpoints.
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70Accomplished, emotionally involving film.
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70The power of this quiet little film lies in the lyricism of its images of life on Bangladesh's waterways and in its towns...and in the naturalistic performances from its cast of mostly nonprofessional actors.
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50Strikes several beautiful and lingering chords about the human condition, but the notes of the music ultimately never come together to form a coherent song.