The Dissolve by Noah Berlatsky

In a spy story, Bethlehem insists, there are no good guys or bad guys, and no victor—just day-in, day-out deceit and betrayal, the weary work of hate.

Boston Globe by Peter Keough

A taut, expertly constructed, and suspenseful police procedural, it also explores the issues of loyalty, trust, betrayal, and revenge that those engaged in such morally ambiguous if essential activities would prefer not to think about.

The A.V. Club by Mike D'Angelo

Superficially similar to Hany Abu-Assad’s Oscar-nominated Omar, it’s a considerably more complex and nuanced examination of the conflicted loyalties and dangerous relationships that characterize daily life in the Middle East, featuring remarkably strong, charismatic performances by a host of mostly non-professional actors.

New York Daily News by Jordan Hoffman

“The Wire” meets the West Bank in this searing drama loaded with action and nuanced characters.

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

Bethlehem is emphatically political, as perhaps any movie about warring Israelis and Palestinians must be. Yet its ideas are more complex than is suggested by either its schematic story or fast-moving genre elements.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

An entertaining film, but also an uncompromising one. It is harsh and not particularly hopeful, and it presents a situation so tangled and contorted, with so many interests in collision, that a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians seems a distant prospect.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

The movie doesn’t delve especially deeply into the psychology of double-agentry, and the shifting viewpoints between Israelis and Palestinians flattens the drama instead of broadening it.

Village Voice by Zachary Wigon

Refusing to take sides or vilify his characters, Adler finds the humanity in all parties.

Variety by Leslie Felperin

The film comprises an impressive directorial debut for Adler who demonstrates a confident grasp of pace, place and thesp handling.

Arizona Republic by Bill Goodykoontz

In Bethlehem Adler tries to make some sense of that world, and to the extent that it's possible, succeeds.

The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton

It’s a strong and eye-catching debut, but one that doesn’t quite mark its ground as the next big thing in Israeli cinema.

NPR by Bob Mondello

Bethlehem qualifies as a promising debut for its first-time actors and director, but it's slack at first, and the thriller tricks it uses to ratchet up the tension later — musical underscoring, careening vehicles, threatening crowds — keep it from sneaking past your defenses.

Slant Magazine

In the end, the film's misstep isn't some failure at being sufficiently morally gray. In being the thriller that it is, it smudges the palette beyond recognition.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

Densely plotted by director Yuval Adler and Ali Wakad (the former Israeli, the latter Palestinian), this informant crime drama finds admirable complexity in the folds of its shifting allegiances — even if you’ve seen this dynamic done better in movies like "The Departed."

The Telegraph by Robbie Collin

You’re left wishing that Adler had focused more on the no-win moral tangle of the handler-informant relationship, and less of the mechanics of its execution.

The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton

Strip away the Middle East backdrop and Bethlehem is a fairly routine thriller about good cops, corrupt bureaucrats and armed criminal gangs.