30
True to Chekhov's dictum, a gun does fire near the end -- by which point eye-rolling audience members may be up in arms too.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Splendidly acted and directed.
70
Works as both an adaptation and a movie in its own right
50
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Miller takes Chekhov's themes and checks them off, but he never gets under his egocentric characters' thin skins.
60
The film is, in fact, an adaptation of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull." This provenance also explains why there's something slightly old-fashioned about the whole business.
42
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Because the talk never gets beyond statement making, and because the characters emit none of Chekhov's radiantly lived-in soulfulness, there's plenty of time to appreciate the sun-kissed landscape.
60
La Petite Lili isn't conventional or crowd-pleasing enough to appeal to audiences who like their foreign films safely sentimental, but it's also not daring enough for those who expect art to hurt a little.
60
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
For all its spikiness, there are hurdles that La Petite Lili cannot overcome. Abridged and abbreviated, Chekhov's leisurely philosophic reflections evoke a musty aroma of pressed flowers in a scrapbook that is out of tune with the times.
38
Viewers are left wondering just why they should care about them and the rest of the film's one-dimensional characters.