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Family Law
IFC First Take

Family Law reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 66 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.5 out of 10
based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 6 votes
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Daniel Hendler, Arturo Goetz, Eloy Burman, Julieta Díaz, Adriana Aizemberg, Jean Pierre Reguerraz, Dmitry Rodnoy, and Luis Albornoz

Ariel Perelman is an attorney, like his father. And, because it is customary in Argentina to do so, the people refer to them both as Dr. Perelman -- regardless of whether they mean the father or the son. Yet it is not so much sharing the same name that bothers Perelman Junior as not knowing if he is beginning to look just like his father -- or at least, the exact opposite. (IFC First Take Films)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Drama  |  Foreign  
WRITTEN BY: Daniel Burman  
DIRECTED BY: Daniel Burman  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: May 15, 2007 
Theatrical: December 8, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Argentina / Italy / Spain / France 
LANGUAGE(S): Spanish (with English subtitles) 

Original title "Derecho de Familia"

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...

88
TV Guide Ken Fox
Writer-director Daniel Burman's dryly humorous, poker-faced comedic style is once again in full play in this funny and touching film about a young Argentine man and his aging father, both of whom happen to be lawyers.
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80
Village Voice Ella Taylor
Like his equally father-fixated, and equally wonderful, 2003 film "Lost Embrace," Burman's beguiling tribute to his Jewish father -- or, for all I know, the one he wishes he had -- is warm and deep enough to give humanism a good name.
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75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Burman tends to focus very tightly on the details of individual identity - religion, nationality, gender. It is all the more striking, then, that his restrained and unassuming films are wise enough to speak to every adult.
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75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
This is a comedy made for people who think, who like smart talk and who, like the Perelmans, know the score.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
It's a serious subject handled with humor -- not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans.
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70
The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
Burman is particularly good at the tiny details that become recognition points in daily patterns.
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70
Variety Jonathan Holland
A deft, witty and emotionally rewarding study of a thirtysomething man in his roles as father and son.
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70
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Delicate, bittersweet comedy.
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70
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Family Law never really gets to the nitty-gritty of the Perelmans' fraught relationship, instead maintaining a gently ironic distance that, while admirable in its restraint, ultimately lacks emotional fire.
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67
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
While Family Law is well-shot, it's not spectacularly well-shot, or involving in any conventional cinematic way.
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67
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Well acted.
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63
Boston Globe Ty Burr
It's a deceptively small film, one whose observations may continue to detonate quietly in your mind after the lights have come up.
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63
Miami Herald Marta Barber
The filmmaker may not appeal to large numbers of filmgoers. But if you get his humor and delicate style, you'll enjoy his latest work.
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60
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
An alternately charming and frustrating comic entertainment.
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60
Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton
Engaging and well acted, the film is admirably low-key, yet Burman's relaxed approach becomes a liability--everything goes down smoothly but leaves one hungry for something more substantial.
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58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
This is standard fare on the subject of father and son relations.
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50
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A meticulously observed story about fathers and sons within the Argentine Jewish community...What the film desperately lacks, however, is any meaningful conflict. Thus, there is little story here.
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50
New York Post V.A. Musetto
After sitting a while in front of my computer trying to come with the right word to describe the Argentine soaper Family Law, I've settled on "diverting." You will be entertained, but you won't tax your brain.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sebastian G. gave it a10:
Burman gets even better with this last movie of his trilogy of Jewish fathers from Waiting the Mesaiah to Lost Embrace, this one is a great story and very well told!

Marie Samuels gave it a10:
This is an intelligent and touching family drama with lots of comedic touches. It is a humanistic story and portrays an unfamiliar world -- that of the Buenos Aires Jewish intellectuals. A winner.

Paul Kane gave it a9:
I saw two films from Argentina last month. If you have an interest, you will not be disappointed. Great!

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