Cold Souls

Name: Cold Souls
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: August 7, 2009
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, Paul Giamatti

2009

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Ratings

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5.8

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5.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Ratings

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Cold Souls

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Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The | Release Date: August 7, 2009 | PG-13

Starring: Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, Paul Giamatti

Summary: Is your soul weighing you down? Paul Giamatti has found a solution! In the surreal comedy Cold Souls, Paul Giamatti plays an actor named... Paul Giamatti. Stumbling upon an article in The New Yorker about a high-tech company that extracts, deep-freezes and stores people's souls, Paul very well might have found the key to happiness for whichIs your soul weighing you down? Paul Giamatti has found a solution! In the surreal comedy Cold Souls, Paul Giamatti plays an actor named... Paul Giamatti. Stumbling upon an article in The New Yorker about a high-tech company that extracts, deep-freezes and stores people's souls, Paul very well might have found the key to happiness for which he's been searching. But, complications arise when he is the unfortunate victim of "soul-trafficking." Giamatti's journey takes him all the way to Russia in hopes of retrieving his stolen soul from an ambitious but talentless soap-opera actress. Balancing a tightrope between deadpan humor & pathos, and reality & fantasy, Cold Souls is a true soul searching comedy. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)… Expand

Director: Sophie Barthes

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 101 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Whitney Borup

I love love love love loved Cold Souls. That might be because I love love love Paul Giamatti. Read full review

Michael Sragow

Paul Giamatti - that huddle of broiling instincts, out-of-control impulses and aggravated ardor epitomized in "Sideways" - you feel his soul's absence as dearly as its presence. Read full review

Peter Travers

You'll laugh till it hurts at Cold Souls. Read full review

Robert Abele

Somewhere between the rabbit-hole absurdist comedy of Charlie Kaufman and a navel-gazing Woody Allen film is the somberly humorous indie Cold Souls. Read full review

Anthony Kaufman

It may be only in the film's last ambiguous, evocative image that Barthes and Parekh finally transcend the material and arrive at something beautiful and ineffable. Read full review

M. E. Russell

The movie still works as a clever little "Twilight Zone" episode with great production values, and it's an impressively ambitious debut for Barthes. Read full review

Andrea Gronvall

Paul Giamatti plays himself in a dark indie comedy that's distinguished by a sci-fi theme and surrealistic touches but ends without a payoff. Read full review

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User Reviews

pats123

Aug 16, 2009

Best movie I've seen all year. And I've seen tons... Strong performances, smart, very funny.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ArnoldP

Aug 9, 2009

Intelligent, funny, wildly original piece of entertainment anchored by a rip roaring masterful performance Paul Giamatti.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AlissaA

Aug 16, 2009

Beautiful movie! Paul Giamatti is totally amazing. It's funny and sad at the same time. And very soulful.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

RyanGee

Sep 28, 2010

Charles Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is perhaps one of the most cerebral and innovative films of the last decade, winning best screenplay back in 2005. It is no wonder that this film has influenced other works in cinema. However, although most movies are not too original,Charles Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is perhaps one of the most cerebral and innovative films of the last decade, winning best screenplay back in 2005. It is no wonder that this film has influenced other works in cinema. However, although most movies are not too original, Sophie Barthes's debut film resembles Kaufman's work way too closely to Eternal Sunshine and Being John Malcovich, which was also crafted by Kaufman.

In this Dark Indie-Comedrama, Paul Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti (Being John Malcovich anyone?), and is in midst of practicing for the play Uncle Vanya. Giamatti embraces the depressed character of the play so much, that he himself finds himself with a dark shadow over his head. To rid of his depression, he goes to a specialized company to extract his soul (replace "soul" with "memories" and you have Eternal Sunshine). After negative side effects of being apathetic and being unable to act, Giamatti finds his soul stolen and misplaced. He then searches for his soul with a Russian mule (Dina Korzun) who stole his soul in the first place.

Cold Souls in all actuality is a good film, the premise is actually quite intriguing with its traces of science fiction and comedy. In addition to Giamatti's usual phenomenal acting, as he portrays multiple states having different souls. But its similarity to Kaufman's is way too close. It's basically watching the same film that Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet already made into a classic. So overall, Cold Souls is a good movie, but there's a better version that has already been made.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JohnnyDrake

Sep 20, 2009

This is normally my kind of movie, but i found Cold Souls to be neither funny nor intriguing. Basically a rehash of the expected other flicks without the inventiveness or surprises. I found myself thinking the next lines a second before they were spoken pretty consistently throughout theThis is normally my kind of movie, but i found Cold Souls to be neither funny nor intriguing. Basically a rehash of the expected other flicks without the inventiveness or surprises. I found myself thinking the next lines a second before they were spoken pretty consistently throughout the film. Good acting, though.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

DeniseT

Aug 11, 2009

A movie about soul that is without dept or much emotional honesty. It is clearly derivative of Kaufman film but without the wit and simultaneous delve into what it means to be human. Cold Souls in not funny though it tries to be clever. It's one overly long gimmick that never becomes A movie about soul that is without dept or much emotional honesty. It is clearly derivative of Kaufman film but without the wit and simultaneous delve into what it means to be human. Cold Souls in not funny though it tries to be clever. It's one overly long gimmick that never becomes anything greater than that. All rather soulless."… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

VicVic

Sep 26, 2009

Whoa... weird, boring, slow...I am shocked by everyone's comments. I really liked him in American Splendor and thought this would be good considering the caliber of other actors. I thought about walking out, my wife was playing games on her iPhone and I was so jealous. Horrible...Whoa... weird, boring, slow...I am shocked by everyone's comments. I really liked him in American Splendor and thought this would be good considering the caliber of other actors. I thought about walking out, my wife was playing games on her iPhone and I was so jealous. Horrible... perhaps the top 5 worst movies I have ever seen. 'Bug' with Ashley Judd was worse. Not funny, a colossal waste of time and money. Our theater was a National Historic Bldg, so our $18 was a 'donation'.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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