Syngué sabour, pierre de patience 2013

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Life and death circle each other restlessly and then furiously in the Afghan-set movie "The Patience Stone." Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: The bare room where the husband lies helpless becomes a confessional where Farahani pours out the woman's life story in a performance that grabs you with its quiet yet searing power. Read more

Alissa Simon, Variety: Sensual and horrifying, The Patience Stone plays like a mesmerizing, modern take on the tales of Scheherazade and a parable on the suffering of Afghan women. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: There's only so much anyone can do with a conceit that amounts to a movie-length speech delivered to a coma patient. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: The film burns with the collective anger of exiles, unfolding as an indictment of the Islamic customs and religious practices that oppress women in their native countries. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: A startling fantasy of Muslim feminist empowerment that allows the Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani to put on what amounts to a one-woman show. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Most impressive, however, is Farahani's lead performance. Though often pitiable, the heroine never registers as a martyr or a victim, but a relatable, multifaceted human being. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: It's a little on-the-nose. But "The Patience Stone" has Farahani, in nearly every shot, and in its meticulously paced way her movie-long confessional is something to see. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Amid these horrors, the young wife retains not only the frailty but also the incandescence, the sheer staying power, of beauty. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Directed by Atiq Rahimi and based on his novel, "The Patience Stone" speaks for all oppressed women, for all oppressed people for that matter. Read more

Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter: A luminous central performance from Golshifteh Farahani distinguishes an ambitious if somewhat monotonously wordy adaptation of a prize-winning best-seller. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: Shines a startling, hugely affecting light on the desperate measures so many women must take to survive in the world's most mercilessly patriarchal cultures. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The camera observes, quietly. There is a stillness, not only in the images, but in the air itself. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Speaking truth to power - all manner of truths, to any kind of power - is at the core of "The Patience Stone." Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: "The Patience Stone" is essentially a monologue, and Atiq Rahimi (directing the adaptation of his own novel) doesn't have what it takes to make the story more dynamic. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: It's a tragedy streaked with nightmare farce. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: [A] quietly fierce condemnation of fundamentalist Muslim society's treatment of women ... Read more

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: From beginning to end, it's a very human story. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: With a piercing edge, "The Patience Stone" is a cry from behind the veil, where a suffocating woman weaves a new life of her own design. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: It requires a leap of faith, but this handsome-looking film offers a disarming combination of insight, compassion and provocation. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Farhani ... almost single-handedly carries the film; the range the Iranian actor displays here proves that she's destined for bigger things. Fans will just have to be patient. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: The movie makes all this single-room, beating-her-breast stuff more punishing than the novel does, and less rewarding as well. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Some movies prove both immediately transformative - altering how we view the world as soon as we leave the theater - and long-lasting, demanding days or weeks of reflection. Read more