73
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeIvo’s farmhouse looks leftover from another century, which gives a timeless feeling, as does the regal bearing of Ulfsak and the dry humor of the script. The film telegraphs its pacifist message early on, but it’s still deeply affecting.
- Its impact sealed by across-the-board strong performances from its all-male cast, Tangerines is a film about loss and belonging, about rootedness and departure.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe film turns out to be highly effective, thanks to the skills of the actors and director Zaza Urushadze.
- 80VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWith nearly five-decade screen veteran Ulfsak setting the wry, soulful tenor, Tangerines balances humor and seriousness in deft fashion, its delicacy abetted by all thesps and design contributions.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreA simple tale, sharply drawn and smartly told, a portrait of a people, a place and a centuries-old conflict that this wise yet myopic citrus farmer cannot get his mind around any more than we can.
- 70Village VoiceMarsha McCreadieVillage VoiceMarsha McCreadieInterior scenes focus theater-like on the dining room table-as-vortex: Threats and insults whip about, but, finally, so do forays of friendship.
- 60The DissolveMike D'AngeloThe DissolveMike D'AngeloToo blunt and didactic to convey the futility of war with the complexity the subject demands, Tangerines works primarily as a showcase for its trio of lead actors, who work hard to make their characters’ gradual yet quick thaw seem not just credible, but inevitable.
- 60Time OutDavid EhrlichTime OutDavid EhrlichUrushadze’s excellent cast imbues their thinly drawn characters with a great deal of life, but the roles are so transparent that the film feels like more of an advertisement for peace than it does an argument for it.
- The shift from philosophical parrying to actual combat doesn’t make Tangerines more compelling; on the contrary, it suggests that the filmmakers didn’t have the confidence to tell their story without falling back on genre tropes.
- 50Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardFor all of the potential, historically specific revelations regarding nation and religion, Tangerines elects to become bathetic hokum.