Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Stronger on beautiful imagery than on narrative flow.

Los Angeles Times

Though the narrative could use more depth and detail, the film generally absorbs with its strong performances, stirring emotions and vivid imagery.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

With its intense chiaroscuro and meticulous manipulation of color that ranges from stark black and white to richer, shifting hues in scenes set in a metaphorical orchard, the film surpasses even Michael Haneke's "White Ribbon" in the fierce beauty and precision of its cinematography (by Martin Gschlacht).

L.A. Weekly by Ernest Hardy

Neshat employs dialogue that is often didactic, but that weakness is forgiven in the face of stellar acting from the ensemble and gorgeously composed and shot images.

Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein

Though the narrative could use more depth and detail, the film generally absorbs with its strong performances, stirring emotions and vivid imagery.

Arizona Republic by Richard Nilsen

It seduces us with imagery and metaphor.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

The movie moves fluidly back and forth between these women's stories, as well as between reality and a kind of dream-state, as all four find their way into a walled orchard where they share fellowship and temporary refuge from the demands of men.

Boston Globe by Ty Burr

Shirin Neshat's film, a magical-realist cry from the heart, is as up-to-date as last year's pro-democracy protests.

The Hollywood Reporter

This beautifully made film (which won the best director award at last year's Venice Film Festival) is the very definition of an art house movie with limited appeal, but its political import gives it added talking points that will draw attention.

Chicago Reader by Fred Camper

Shirin Neshat, best known for her video installations, makes her feature directing debut with this elegant, often moving story of four Iranian women trapped by their circumstances in the turmoil preceding the 1953 coup.

Boxoffice Magazine by Wade Major

A powerful and provocative look at the seismology of the Iranian social order and the connective tissue that sustains Iranian women in particular.

Variety

Has striking moments comparable to the best of Neshat's potent imagery. But the script jettisons most of the book's more powerful sections.

The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Farber

This beautifully made film (which won the best director award at last year's Venice Film Festival) is the very definition of an art house movie with limited appeal, but its political import gives it added talking points that will draw attention.

Variety by Jay Weissberg

Has striking moments comparable to the best of Neshat's potent imagery. But the script jettisons most of the book's more powerful sections.

New Orleans Times-Picayune by Mike Scott

Unfortunately, on the way to delivering that message, it becomes weighted down by its own dreary self-importance.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen

Although the entire film is beautifully framed and shot, especially the surreal sequences, precious little coheres into anything resembling a compelling narrative.