Variety by Guy Lodge

No community is as straightforward as it seems in Zhuk and Landauer’s irony-rich, tone-switching script: What begins as a kookily comic quest is complicated by the emergence of human tragedy, prejudice and sexual threat.

The Playlist by Gregory Ellwood

What there is, however, is Nasibullina and she makes you root for Velya despite all the character’s faults

IndieWire by David Ehrlich

The American Dream may be a mass delusion, but it’s the realest thing in the world to those under its sway. Zhuk was able to manifest her destiny and make it across the ocean, and her movie offers a compelling glimpse at why that may have been the only choice her country ever gave her.

Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene

Throughout the film, it’s as if mundane objects hold the remedies for the wretchedness of everyday life.

Screen Daily by Demetrios Matheou

The debut feature by Belarus-born, US-educated Darya Zhuk may be set in the mid-90s, but with a plot founded on a young Belarussian’s obsessive desire for an American visa, and a sting in the tale that chimes with the #metoo movement, it has a remarkably topical ring to it.

The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton

Despite its relatively unusual setting, Crystal Swan is a largely conventional fish-out-of-water story at heart. But it is elevated above the routine by its excellent cast, especially Nassibulina, and plenty of visual flair.