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Grandfather, The
Miramax Films

Grandfather, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 57 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.5 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 2 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements and language

Starring Fernando Fernan Gomez, Rafael Alonso, and Cayetana Guillen Cuervo

Set at the turn of the century, The Grandfather tells the story of love, friendship, honor and betrayal within one powerful Spanish family spanning three generations. (Miramax Films)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Jose Luis Garci
Benito Pérez Galdós (novel)
Horacio Valcarcel
 
DIRECTED BY: Jose Luis Garci  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 8, 2000 
Video: August 8, 2000 
Theatrical: October 8, 1999 
RUNNING TIME: 145 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Spain 
LANGUAGE(S): Spanish (with English subtitles) 

Also known as "El Abuelo"

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...

80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A wise and beautiful film.
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80
The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder
Brims with understanding of the complexities of relationships, the frailties of humankind and the possibilities of joy.
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75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
At once proudly conservative, passionately idealistic and beautifully assured.
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75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
A solid, humane, old-fashioned film in the best sense of the term.
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70
Film.com Tom Keogh
Few movies this year have been quite so rewarding with their 11th hour epiphanies.
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70
LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
The picture's deepest strength, however, is the fire Fernán-Gómez conjures from deep within himself, as if "honor" were an extinct volcano he could will into exploding, given enough anger and time.
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65
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
It's filled with far too much talk and it never justifies its length, but if you succumb to its old-fashioned Renoir style of storytelling, The Grandfather has its pleasures.
63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Undercut by funereal pacing and an ending that seems more than a little contrived.
50
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Old-fashioned storytelling.
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50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Essentially conversations, confrontations, and an extremely pat -- and very verbal -- reconciliation.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
The film's constrained style keeps the drama from reaching a full boil.
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50
USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
The material has enough meat to enable charitable viewers to drift in and out, but the result is too arch to conjure up much affection.
40
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Nobody ever shuts up in this schmaltzy, mannered drama.
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40
TV Guide Steve Simels
Veers inconsistently between sit-com jokeiness and nostril-flaring melodrama.
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30
Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Not only is the dialogue endless...it's like driving behind a 15 mph geezer on a one-way street.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Edmund M. gave it a 10:
Saw it at the movie theatre without the distractions of home environment, that helps. If you're in a hurry - don't see it.

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