The New York Times by A.O. Scott

Mr. Bielinsky, in what would sadly be his last film, demonstrates a mastery of the form that is downright scary.

Salon by Andrew O'Hehir

This is a tremendously atmospheric movie full of moody mystery, and it'll keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Variety by Jonathan Holland

The Aura is far from being simply "Nine Queens2." Leisurely paced, studied, reticent and rural, The Aura is a quieter, richer and better-looking piece that handles its multiple manipulations with the maturity the earlier picture sometimes lacked.

New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

The tension and intrigue between the pretender and his would-be associates is as dense as the woods surrounding their hiding place.

TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh

Bielinsky's "Nine Queens" was a complex romp through the machinations of high-stakes con artists, but this intricately plotted mystery ventures into darker psychological territory and never misses a step.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

The Aura holds together as a dreamy variation on "Reservoir Dogs'" heist-gone-wrong fatalism and the know-thyself confrontations of David Mamet's "Homicide."

Film Threat

While an enjoyable twist on the noir genre, a little more character development would have been nice.

Village Voice

A hypnotic unease hangs over the film.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

Bielinsky is a most expressive director, achieving considerable nuances and depths of emotion with characters' looks, gestures, body language and silences.

Chicago Reader by Reece Pendleton

While never boring and sometimes quite gripping, Bielinsky’s manneristic style becomes distracting; he seems more concerned with generating an ominous atmosphere than with telling a compelling story.