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The Son
User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 3 out of 13

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  1. ButteredPopcorn
    Jun 6, 2004
    8
    Quite a good movie. Understatement abounds in this film. And it is a consistent, engaging peice of work. But you do have to wonder if it was so necessary for the camera to spend so much time focusing on the back of the main characters head, and if their had to be so much hery jerky close-ups so unrelentingly throughout. And I have to wonder why the script takes so long to disclose what the real connection is between the main character (teacher) and the new student. Long before the truth is disclosed, you start conjuring up theories of sexual deviance, etc... Couldn't they have gotten to the issue a littel quicker- after all, they still have most of the movie to resolve it, and nothing is gained by dragging out this essential piece of information besides sending the viewer down the erroneous paths that have nothing to do with the real point of this movie. But these are minor points in a very engaging, poignant movie. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. KaterinaD.
    Apr 3, 2003
    2
    It could have been a very good film, but it isn't as it is very empty - no emotions, neither some story to keep your mind busy.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. MatthewN.
    May 2, 2005
    10
    This is a film which has subverted and re-invented the grammer of cinema. The work of two auteurs. A rewarding and superbly rich experience. This is a film that is experienced, not just watched. This film is high art.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. KaterinaD.
    Apr 3, 2003
    2
    It could have been a very good film, but it isn't as it is very empty - no emotions, neither some story to keep your mind busy.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. VinceH.
    Apr 27, 2003
    10
    Ummmm, okay. The first reviewer obviously know nothing about film. He is the type who thinks Fellini is an Italian noodle. This movie is an astonishing masterpiece. I never review here, but I felt compelled to after the first review my detract people from seeing this. There is nothing to say except see this film of live an unfulfilled life.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. DavidT
    Dec 28, 2005
    1
    Wow, What a bore. NOTHING Happens! cure for insomnia.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. NicholasB.
    Apr 21, 2005
    10
    Art distilled to its finest purity.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. J.RyanG.
    May 23, 2005
    9
    You can cut the tension with a chainsaw. But why? What really happens? I'll tell you. When we watch movies, we rarely get the opportunity to feel what it really feels like to be in the particular situation the characters are in. A car wreck in the movies doesn't always make us feel like we felt when our own cars wrecked. Sex scenes rarely remind us of experiences we have had. But this movie builds the kind of tension, alienation, paranoia, and finally, desperation, that one must surely feel when in the situation these main characters are in. And, let's just assume, few people have ever been in their positions.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. ChadS.
    Jan 31, 2006
    10
    Suddenly, every banal action by this sullen carpenter is significant. Our focus moves away from an overwhelming awareness that this film is being shot with a handheld camera, and onto the blank slate of a face we suspect is a signpost for an imploding soul. Before our very eyes, "The Son" transforms from a stunt into truth, artifice into edifying art. Emilie Dequenne is easier on the eyes than Olivier Gourmet, but "The Son" probably surpasses the Palm d'or-winning "Rosetta" from Cannes '99, simply because we're in disbelief that these talented filmmakers made another great film with this avant-garde approach that stops precariously short of being arch. Ultimately, "The Son" is a suspense film. Without any music cues to prepare us, we're kept on edge everytime the mentor is out of frame in context with his younger companion.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    The real star of The Son isn't lead actor Olivier Gourmet. It's the back of his neck, which the camera obsessively focuses on throughout this difficult but rewarding Belgian drama.
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  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    90
    To call The Son a masterpiece would be to insult its modesty. Like the homely, useful boxes Olivier teaches his prodigals to build, it is sturdy, durable and, in its downcast, unobtrusive way, miraculous.
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  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It is as assured and flawless a telling of sadness and joy as I have ever seen.
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