| 100 |
San Francisco Chronicle
A movie about serendipity and spontaneity.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
It may be that a relationship like the one here between Rosalba and Fernando is impossible in real life. All the more reason for this movie.
|
| 80 |
New Times (L.A.)
A charming little film, filled with eccentric characters and ingratiating performances.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Fred Camper
The first half of the film, in which Maglietta gradually discovers herself as something other than a servant, is genuinely engaging.
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Soldini's amiable new comedy suggests that an older, better Italy of imagination, rationality and civility survives on the fringes of a modern nation obsessed, like most others, with consumerism, empty prosperity and easy pleasure.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
Nicely done, sweet, delicately comic and a complete delight.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
An utterly beguiling tale.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Actresses such as Maglietta are why movies were invented: You never get tired of her mercurial personality or of her infinitely compelling face.
|
| 75 |
Baltimore Sun
Soldini's consistently understated touch, and a poignant turn by Licia Maglietta as the confused and bemused main character, turns Bread and Tulips into a character study worth studying.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
Manages the right balance of fairy tale and joyous self-discovery. And the Venice locations don't hurt.
|
| 75 |
Christian Science Monitor
Maglietta gives a magical performance in this lightweight but flavorsome comedy.
|
| 70 |
LA Weekly
Maglietta, whose soulful countenance and offhand grace are soothing to behold, and Ganz, who says more with a shrug and sigh than most poets do with a sonnet.
|
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times
Too lethargic and strung-out for its own good. Thankfully, it casts a pleasant, amusing and touching spell anyway, but more energy and a markedly shorter running time might have turned a sunny diversion into something more special.
|
| 67 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A sweet-spirited, extremely well-cast little comedy.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
It's an endearing romantic daydream, but misses the bus where matters of reality are concerned.
|
| 63 |
New York Daily News
As escapist fantasies go, this easygoing romance is a modest winner.
|
| 60 |
Mr. Showbiz
For some viewers, this will seem a trial of predictability and unrelenting sweetness; for others, it's more than enough.
|
| 50 |
Miami Herald
It's all very sweet, but the film goes in too many directions.
|
| 50 |
Village Voice
A happy ending is never at issue here -- it's clear where she's going, but there's little clue where she's been.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
Characters' eccentricities feel contrived and the wackiness seems forced, though the film's amiable ambling does keep the viewer intrigued, if not charmed.
|
| 40 |
Washington Post
A little too shopworn and pokey to be more than a respectable European diversion.
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