Le père de mes enfants 2009

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A tale of cinema, a story about the agonies of trying to work outside the cinematic mainstream (even in France!). Yet what makes the movie so affecting is that ita(TM)s also a love story about a family. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Writer-director Mia Hansen-Love is telling two stories here: The first is a concentrated, slow-burn tale of personal self-destruction, while the second is an anecdotal, perceptive study of a family dealing with tragedy. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Beautiful, profound and, given the gathering tensions of its story, phenomenally full of life. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: The Father Of My Children is largely about how life drifts by, and how we don't always leave the mark in the world that we'd hoped, so Hansen-Love resists the urge to overdramatize or over-stress. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: A subtle work on an exceedingly difficult subject. Read more

David Roark, Dallas Morning News: While the movie is far from perfect, those potential missteps are, in the end, part of what makes The Father of My Children so beautiful. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: What French writer-director Mia Hansen-Love has created is an extraordinarily empathetic humanistic drama, a film of love, joy, sadness and hope that understands how complex our emotions are and does beautiful justice to them. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: The Father of My Children loses focus and sags into a how-we-got-through-it family procedural. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: You could argue that the film fails to revive the harassed intensities of its first hour, but I doubt whether they could have been sustained; and what we get instead, with its stunned and glassy air, yields a slow-breathing drama of its own. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: There is much opportunity to turn the film into a soaper, but Hansen-Love resists. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It is a film about children and their parents, and not knowing where fate, or life, can take you. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Father of My Children is exceptional drama. Compelling and unforced, it shows sensitivity and evenhandedness in approaching a difficult subject. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film's second half is the most touching, because it shows that our lives are not merely our own, but also belong to the events we set in motion. Read more

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: The film is achieved with a rare tenderness and grace by 29-year-old French actress-filmmaker Mia Hanson-Love. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Time Out: Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: The essence of the film is a welcome compassion and curiosity about inner lives. Read more

Time Out: This is only half a great movie. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Marked by moments of remarkable stillness amid its emotional tumult, the film's classy, perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits wider arthouse attention than it's likely to receive. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: Hansen-Lovea(TM)s fevered mix of love and resentment toward this man lends urgency and eros to his professional and personal unraveling. Read more