Boston Globe by Wesley Morris

Nothing momentous happens here, but Philibert has a magical sense of how to find the simple poetry lurking in the universal routine of being a kid. A lot of the film's lyricism is extracurricular.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

So superb, so graceful, so strong -- another beauty in this year of good documentaries -- that I do believe it will influence career choices, sending inspired viewers to study pedagogy, or cinematography.

Washington Post by Ann Hornaday

Hypnotically absorbing film.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

Little miracles spring up throughout this picture.

The Dissolve by Noel Murray

This movie is a portal, leading to a living museum of childhood at its most poignant.

Portland Oregonian by Karen Karbo

Watching a group of kindergartners learning to crack an egg into a bowl is hardly the stuff of drama, and yet watching it, you suspect that something important is happening. And it is.

The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann

"You'll have to be patient." Philibert said, "That's the point." This is the film's success: its patience, which in a way mirrors the teacher's.

Variety by Lisa Nesselson

Any negative stereotypes viewers might harbor about education in rural communities are sent packing by this magnificently lensed and cumulatively touching account from documaker Nicolas Philibert.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

It is, simply and stirringly, a kind of beau ideal of education, a vision of how the process can work at its best.

Salon by Charles Taylor

This heart-wrenching documentary about a French village schoolteacher at work offers the comedy and pathos of great drama and the visual magnificence of painting.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

Exhibiting the same sort of patience as his sensible hero, Philibert has created an extraordinarily humane portrait of a partnership between one adult and his very fortunate charges.

New York Post by Megan Lehmann

One of the year's most engaging films.

The New Yorker by David Denby

A deeply satisfying aesthetic and pedagogic experience--though Americans may find themselves wondering how such terrific children can grow into such irritating adults.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

The interest of To Be and to Have, though, is not sociological: it is not really about the French educational system, rural life or even the way children learn. It is, rather, the portrait of an artist, a man whose work combines discipline and inspiration and unfolds mysteriously and imperceptibly.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

Full of observed life, the movie is also a bit of a vacuum, and once we register our admiration for Lopez, we can hardly help contemplating the cold equations of the students' futures, their uneducated families, and the rapturously desolate farmland around them.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer

The emotional honesty of this movie rescues it from sentimentality. To Be and to Have is about more than a dedicated teacher and his pupils; it’s about how difficult and exhilarating it is to grow into an adult.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Simple but deeply touching documentary.