Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

A splendid instance of a surrealist vision that serves to heighten the impact of genuine emotions experienced by believably real people.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

Another of those excellent foreign films that sometimes slip though cracks, considered too strange or eccentric for domestic tastes. Strange it is, but delightfully so

L.A. Weekly by Ernest Hardy

Dark, wickedly funny tale.

New Times (L.A.) by Gregory Weinkauf

The story sustains a strong, hypnotic appeal well deserving of its many awards.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

Sensual, funny and, in the end, very touching.

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

This doesn't mean Maelström is for everyone. It's a strange and quirky yarn, moving between deceptively calm scenes and episodes as tempestuous as its title.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

Compelling parable from Canada that's open to a number of interpretations.

Miami Herald by Marta Barber

Despite its stylistic flaws, the acting and the magic of the story make Maelstrom a different kind of film.

New York Post by Lou Lumenick

Strikingly photographed, Maelstrom, which explores its nautical themes in non-linear fashion, is not for all tastes. But I, for one, was hooked by this fish's tale.

Variety by Dennis Harvey

A film whose charms are odd and indefinable by design.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

Probably the first romantic drama ever narrated by a smelly dead fish.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

For a movie about identity to have no identity of its own leaves the story doubly adrift, lost amid moody dark-blue imagery, a vacuous lead character, and obscure symbolism, such as the bloody talking fishes.