Variety by Eddie Cockrell

Superbly modulated yet unrelentingly grim, Mirage builds upon a remarkable performance from young Macedonian newcomer Marko Kovacevic to tell the tragic tale of a talented schoolboy driven to violence through neglect and manipulation.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

You just know that any film that opens with Nietzsche's aphorism about hope being an evil that only prolongs the torments of man isn't going to a comedy.

Village Voice

Marko's story is far from novel, but its wicked evocation of hopelessness transcends any familiarities.

Film Threat by Phil Hall

The true power of the film comes from young Marko Kovacevic, who plays the poetic child lost in a family and culture where poetry has no meaning.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

Ristovski needs us to feel his nation's torment, and he succeeds.

The New York Times

Mr. Ristovski's story (written with Grace Lea Troje) feels a bit underdeveloped, partly because he uses too many lingering, silent shots of Marko and doesn't give the boy much of a voice.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Ristovski wants the plight of a bullied moppet to serve as a sweeping metaphor for Macedonian struggle, but his miserablist excesses have the effect of converting realism into a graphic cartoon.

New York Post

Drab, despairing and pointless.