Diplomatie 2014

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: The film's a little too flashy and theatrical, with too-neat ironies. As a duel between acting talents, though, this is first-rate. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: To be sure, we are in that authorial fantasy by which historical figures become shrewder, sharper and wittier than they surely were in life... But when the actors and the dialogue are this good, one scarcely objects. Read more

Nick Schager, AV Club: Has enough visual panache to compensate for the static, conversational nature of the work. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: Tere's a fair amount of talking in circles, even with the film's brisk running time. The dialogue also reflects the material's stage origins in ways that don't always translate well. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: If you've had your fill of tony World War II dramas, this probably won't renew your interest in the genre, but the leads are fine as usual and Schlondorff succeeds in making the stagebound material feel reasonably cinematic. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Based on the French play by Cyril Gely and directed by Volker Schlondorff's Diplomacy is so soundly engineered and acted that it doesn't seem stagey at all. Read more

Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: It's Arestrup who really steals the show, turning von Cholitz into a man who bears the weight of several thousand soldiers, not to mention an entire civilian population, and who suffers under that burden until making a final, eleventh hour decision. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It's quite a triumph for Diplomacy in general and Schlondorff's pinpoint filmmaking in particular to involve us as thoroughly as it does in the ebb and flow of their compelling conversation. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Well-orchestrated and superbly acted. Though we know the outcome, the fate of Paris seems anything but guaranteed. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The principal suspense in this fascinating movie is generated by the polite, and then not so polite, ferocity of the arguments between the two men. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The value of "Diplomacy" is that it produces at least as much unsettlement as relief, compelling the viewer to remain haunted by nightmarish thoughts of what might have happened. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: Arestrup and Dussollier are mesmerizing as they attack and parry, argue and counterargue. They reminisce about their lives before the war and wax poetic about their families - then engage in battle again. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Diplomacy will work for those who appreciate dialogue-based character films in which plot is of secondary importance. Read more

Leba Hertz, San Francisco Chronicle: Although we know what happens, Diplomacy keeps up the suspense and pulls off surprises as Choltitz's decision reaches its inevitable ending. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Adapted from a stage production written by Cyril Gely, it feels more theatrical than cinematic, but its historic importance is adequate to hold viewers' attention. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Diplomacy's origins as a play (written by Cyril Gely and starring the same actors) are always evident. Read more

Serena Donadoni, Village Voice: What Gely lacks in historical fidelity he gains in dramatic interplay between men who held power very differently. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Its minor thrills come not from not knowing what will happen, but from watching the cagey choreography of two acrobatic minds. Read more