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Cup, The
Fine Line Features

Cup, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 70 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.0 out of 10
based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 1 votes
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MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring Jamyang Lodro, Orgyen Tobgyal, and Neten Chokling

World Cup fever has reached the Indian Himalayas in this comedy about the lighter side of life in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. This touching story tackles the issues of winning and losing, life in exile and the impact of the modern world on a highly traditional lifestyle. (Palm Pictures)


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Khyentse Norbu  
DIRECTED BY: Khyentse Norbu  
RELEASE DATE: Video: September 26, 2001 
Theatrical: January 28, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Bhutan / Australia 
LANGUAGE(S): Hindi / Tibetan (with English subtitles) 

Also known as "Phörpa"

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The first feature-length movie from Bhutan tells its lighthearted story through smart performances, appealing images, and unfailing good humor.
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90
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A chalice of unpretentious delight, flowing over with goodwill, a cheeky love for soccer and, uh, Buddhist humor.
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90
Village Voice J. Hoberman
The lovability quotient is as high as the altitude.
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88
New York Post Hannah Brown
So joyous it can actually shake viewers out of a bad mood.
80
Dallas Observer Andy Klein
This sweet little movie is a mild comedy, a much calmer cousin to "Sister Act," with men in robes rather than women in habits.
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80
The New York Times Dana Stevens
A very funny movie, alive with a sense of absurdity and human foible.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
The glimpses of religious life bumping into secular passion are touching and warmly comic.
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75
Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday
It's a clear-eyed, unsentimental portrait and indelible for that very reason.
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A delightful demonstration of how spirituality can coexist quite happily with an intense desire for France to defeat Brazil.
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75
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Past the foreign mysticism and eccentricity of Tibetan Buddhism to portray its characters as unmistakably, identifiably human.
75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
A small film and, ultimately, a satisfying one.
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75
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Could well end up on the coming Oscar ballot for best foreign language film.
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70
Film.com Elizabeth Weitzman
Wouldn't you rather learn about his culture from Norbu than from Richard Gere?
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70
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Charming, slyly comic and far from conventionally religious.
70
TV Guide Ken Fox
The tragedy of modern Tibet haunts this otherwise lighthearted tale of life inside a Buddhist monastery-in-exile.
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67
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
While never dull, The Cup is a leisurely, quiet film, rife with staid, sometimes ponderous moments reflecting the seriousness of their situation in exile.
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63
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
An improbably funny and transcendent account of soccer-mad Tibetan monks in exile at a Bhutan monastery.
60
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Though The Cup is lovely to look at, it has none of the ceremonial rigor mortis of Scorsese's "Kundun."
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60
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Norbu tries too hard to please and charm, but his film at least carries the advantages of unactorly faces and a premise based on actual events that dramatizes the issue of religious vocation in a secular world.
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58
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
A cute, clichéd, coming-of-age comedy.
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
Never offers much enlightenment through its message.
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50
Film.com Ernest Hardy
Too slow-moving and too understated in much of its humor.
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42
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Little more than a plodding celebration of global television trumping everything in its midst.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jacques R. gave it a 7:
A must-see for anyone who has a passion for watching football (soccer to you Yanks)(and a should-see for everyone else)!

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