50
Argentinean director Alejandro Agresti's own specs are rose-colored. This loosely autobiographical tale feels inorganically upbeat, with all potentially upsetting material glossed over or truncated.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
The New York Times by Dave Kehr
The film feels authentic only during the scenes between Valentín and his selfish, angry father.
50
The choice to have Valentin narrate the tale and make philosophical observations beyond his years becomes irritating at times; ditto the cartoon humor.
60
Agresti has more on his mind than tugging at heartstrings.
63
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
As a whole, Valentin is a moderately entertaining motion picture, but the lack of a satisfying sense of closure dims its appeal.
80
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
One of the many stylistic distinctions of this outwardly modest production is the complex voice that the filmmaker has found for his young hero.
40
It takes mere seconds for every charming moment to go from "Ahhh..." to "Aarrggh!"
58
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Agresti fattens us up with the kind of kid's-eye-view tragi-comic adventures that regularly supply empty calories in artificially sweetened foreign-language imports.
40
It's not that Noya is bad as kid actors go, but a pair of dewy, crossed eyes and a beyond-his-years melancholy do not an entire movie make.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
With charm to spare, Valentin fuses nostalgia and humor in an episodic story whose ultimate focus is the birth of a writer.