FILM / Critical Round-up

SOFIE

'Sofie does not disappoint. You can fault its length and the stuttering drama of the closing reels, but there is still more than enough delicate acting, emotional penetration and loving care to go round.' Geoff Brown, Times.

'It does look nice, thanks both to the director's skilful shaping of its scenes and Jorgen Persson's rich cinematography. Its problem is that in telling its story . . . it seems half in thrall to what it hates.' Derek Malcolm, Guardian.

'We cannot fault the performances . . . But Ullmann has little sense of emotional rubato and less of visual rhythm.' Nigel Andrews, Financial Times.

UNTAMED HEART

'Most current American product thinks tenderness is for saps, yet this off-beat romantic drama about a mismatched pair who somehow click conveys genuine warmth and an endearing charm.' Geoff Brown, Times.

'What is missing is the kind of social comment someone like Ken Loach would bring to this tale of the working-class underbelly of America . . . This is a nice film, but it could and probably should have been rather more than that.' Derek Malcolm, Guardian.

THE VANISHING

'Battered by melodrama and mugged by contrivance, the new Vanishing bears as much resemblance to the old Vanishing as Mickey Spillane does to Friedrich Nietzsche.' Nigel Andrews, Financial Times.

'His (George Sluizer's) American remake boasts an intriguing beginning and a crowd-pleasing finale; but in-between there are major plot holes and only minor thrills.' Geoff Brown, Times.

CLOSE TO EDEN

'Credit Robert J Averech with the trite, condescending script, which fails on all counts as thriller, love story and Hasidic rhapsody. As for the veteran professional Sidney Lumet, he should hang his head in shame.' Geoff Brown, Times.