Desert Flower 2009

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: "Desert Flower," a well-made film that depicts the remarkable life of the model Waris Dirie, manages to be both a classic feel-good story and about as far from a feel-good story as you can get. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Written and directed by German filmmaker Sherry Hormann, it works as well as it does because of the performances she's drawn from a solid cast. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: A lovely performance by Ethiopian supermodel-actress Liya Kebede as supermodel-activist Waris Dirie works wonders to elevate this uneven, occasionally awkward but often absorbing film. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: The broad comedy clashes with the movie's final message. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Good idea, mediocre presentation. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Waris Dirie is an inspiration, inside and out, and so is this movie. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It has a compelling message and surrounds it with biopic scenes that appear to be brought in from a different kind of movie. The effect is rather unsettling. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: Luckily, her cast makes up for the lapses, and Kebede is especially effective at showing how triumph over culturally sanctioned brutality remains a tentative prospect at best. Read more