Too bad first-time writer-director Shonali Bose's juxtaposition of the personal and the political often feels forced, and like many didactic history lessons, this one's about 20 minutes too long.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Los Angeles Times by Carina Chocano
Despite the overt message and Manichean universe it pushes, Amu manages some memorable cinematic moments while getting the word out for its cause.
This debut feature from writer-director Shonali Bose has a powerful finale, in which the filmmaker uses imaginative camera angles and a vibrant sound design to re-create the turmoil and terror of the riots.
Admirably idealistic but dramatically awkward.
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
As writer, director and producer, Bose has taken on more than she can handle - a fact increasingly obvious each time she stumbles over political themes. But she has a genuine gift for atmosphere, making the many wordless scenes, in teeming streets and on crowded trains, the movie's best.
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
The movie takes on the quality of a first-rate detective story.
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Compelling on a personal level.
The flat, pat talk is symptomatic of Amu's overriding problem: It has no sense of personal style.
Fails to grab the imagination as it unfolds in familiar TV-movie fashion.