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Mexico, France · 2013
1h 27m
Director Claudia Sainte-Luce
Starring Lisa Owen, Ximena Ayala, Sonia Franco, Wendy Guillén
Genre Comedy, Drama
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While being treated for appendicitis, Claudia, a young woman living alone, forms an unexpected bond with Martha, a single mother of four occupying the neighboring a hospital bed. After being discharged, Claudia finds herself growing close with Martha's family as Martha deals with worsening health in this poignant, moving drama of love and connection.
What keeps The Amazing Catfish from greatness despite the evident skill at every level of its production—the editing is sharp, and the actors are all excellent, especially the children—is the sense that Sainte-Luce is luxuriating in quirkiness for its own sake.
Village Voice by Heather Baysa
Claudia Sainte-Luce's semi-autobiographical indie has a knack for subverting stereotypes without making a big deal about it.
Los Angeles Times by Inkoo Kang
Grainily shot but radiating life, The Amazing Catfish is an enormously affecting portrait of a family in crisis that dares to hope.
Slant Magazine by Kenji Fujishima
The familiar premise is done with enough intelligence and heartfelt conviction that it rises above its potentially cliché trappings.
The New York Times by Nicolas Rapold
If there’s a certain depth missing in The Amazing Catfish, the film brings forth the small-scale pleasures and poignancy of an ambling short story.
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