90
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Stringent, clinical and almost unbearably moving.
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100
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Beneath its surface of chronic suffering and hospital details, Chereau's best drama etches a humane, sensitive, and richly moving portrait of fraternal love struggling to mitigate human frailty.
80
Chéreau's film is an unsentimental, almost uninflected, account of a preparation for death, told with a painful clarity that eventually bleeds into compassion.
70
Todeschini has the most physically demanding role, with a gaunt face and ravaged body that utterly convinces of the brutality of the ailment.
63
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
Chéreau keenly understands both his characters and their unwanted world, from the dehumanization that occurs the moment one enters a hospital to the hope and fear that take over when one leaves.
70
Chereau boldly risks alienating his audience by presenting serious illness and all its attendant indignities with an unflinching clarity that's becoming a hallmark of his work.
63
Gives a harrowingly accurate portrait of the indignities sometimes suffered by hospitalized patients - and the sacrifices their families make.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen
While its two credible leads are certainly up to the challenge, there's a relentless claustrophobia that prevents the film from taking on a fully dimensional life of its own.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Son Frère is hushed, clinical, grimly paced, and moving.
90
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
Son Frère is a real achievement, delicate, perceptive, somewhat muted but nonetheless strong.