Film Threat by Phil Hall

Truly magnificent.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

Poignant though it is, the movie is the opposite of depressing. There is too much life in it.

New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

Haroun is deft at handling the joys and pain of childhood. He neither condescends nor ­­over-sentimentalizes. It is a story of separation anxiety (for Amine) and coming of age (for Tahir) and it's universal.

Chicago Reader by Fred Camper

Understated but affecting.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Abouna starkly defines the masculine and feminine influence in raising children, and what happens when they're not so complementary.

The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann

The story of the film is a quiet local tale; the directing is sophisticated.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Haroun and cinematographer Abraham Haile Biru carefully frame their characters with a painterly elegance that is at times truly startling.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

By way of a tragic left hook, Haroun's relaxed movie climaxes back where it began, on the devastated home ground. The journey, however pessimistic, is like a gentle handshake.

Variety by David Stratton

Haroun's film is both touching and, ultimately, almost perversely optimistic.

New York Post by Megan Lehmann

This modest little film out of Africa suffers from largely rudderless direction, relying for any sense of profundity on the breathtaking beauty of Abraham Haile Biru's cinematography.