75
One of the unique virtues of the cinema is its ability to bring history to life with engrossing detail and gripping immediacy; East-West does this.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
San Francisco Chronicle by Bob Graham
It is well-made in an old-fashioned way, and its straight-arrow lack of cynicism may be old- fashioned as well.
80
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Wargnier's sumptuous, moving new film, captures both the hope of the returning Russians and their brutal betrayal.
88
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
Feels like an old-fashioned movie in the way it deals with bold sacrifices made in the name of love, while its setting and chary view of the era's political machinations mark it as distinctly modern.
88
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
The movie that deserved to win the Oscar for foreign-language film, and one of the best movies ever made about life behind the Iron Curtain.
88
Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman
Picks up steam from the ominous opening scene and ends as a quietly suspenseful thriller.
60
Wargnier has assembled a stellar French and Russian cast, but all that talent can't overcome his heavy-handed screenplay.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Although it's interesting and well-performed, East-West never locates its crux: It's all over the map.
40
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Director Regis Warginer ("Indochine") lets his film degenerate into a turgid melodrama.
70
TV Guide Magazine by Stephen Miller
It's Deneuve, in little more than a cameo, who commands your attention and doesn't release you until she's good and ready.