| 90 |
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
In this good-natured film, even the smallest efforts at kindness yield positive results.
|
| 83 |
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
At the end, you're refreshed, like Pauline after she swallows an entire soft drink in one gulp, and it feels terrific.
|
| 80 |
New Times (L.A.)
Bill Gallo
Disturbing, beautifully acted movie.
|
| 80 |
Variety
Lisa Nesselson
Heartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
|
| 80 |
Village Voice
Leslie Camhi
Without condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Rather 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.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
This 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.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Barbara Scharres
Might easily have been mawkish; instead it has a light comic edge and a dignity built on the fine characterization of Pauline.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
It's a moving tale of love and destruction in unexpected places, unexamined lives.
|
| 75 |
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Debrauwer 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.
|
| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
With a steady eye and a warm (but never overtly sentimental) heart, it explores a territory where few movies have ventured before.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Simple, poignant and leavened with humor, it's a film that affirms the nourishing aspects of love and companionship.
|
| 75 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Ray Conlogue
What a graceful movie this is.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
van der Groen, described as "Belgium's national treasure," is especially terrific as Pauline.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
They take a mundane story and give it emotional resonance.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
Sentimental 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.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Plumbs 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.
|
| 70 |
LA Weekly
Paul Malcolm
The 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.
|
| 70 |
TV Guide
Ken Fox
The result is something truly special.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
A small-scale pleasure, a movie that truly stops and smells the roses.
|
| 50 |
Miami Herald
Marta Barber
With touches of humor throughout, the gentle and peaceful film never becomes depressing or sad.
|
| 30 |
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
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.
|
| 20 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Debrauwer's characterization is as sharp and incisive as a butter knife.
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