80
New Times (L.A.) by Andy Klein
Dramatically effective, thanks in large part to Montand's impassioned performance.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
100
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
What makes this small-scale drama so compelling is Pontecorvo's treatment of the main character.
90
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Passionate, literally shimmering movie.
80
The result is an interesting hybrid of neorealist grit and star-driven melodrama, in which very real concerns about poverty and social injustice are mixed with a romantic subplot.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Besides Montand's splendid performance, The Wide Blue Road's other treat is seeing a film that's both old-fashioned enough to believe that social concerns can lead to satisfying drama and well-made enough to deliver on that belief. A film infused with that kind of passion never goes out of style.
80
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer
It's worth seeing, though, not only for its occasional moments of breathtaking beauty and sadness but also because its very rarity demands it.
80
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
A political movie that, partly through the powerful lead performance of its star, the relatively young Yves Montand, transcends its own politics.
70
Washington Post by Stephen Hunter
The film is nowhere near the level of Pontecorvo's masterpiece, or even his subsequent flawed allegory on Vietnam, "Burn!," but is clearly the work of a natural coming into the full range of his powers.
63
iIt is clear that it would have benefited from black-and-white cinematography. And the melodramatic musical soundtrack is annoying and unnecessary.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold
The style is dated, and its neorealism seems forced and ineffective, but it's still delectable, and mostly for the things Pontecorvo hated about it: its delirious '50s color, and its stars, particularly Montand at the peak of virility.