"hıııııığ"lamadan +2 puan verdim.

I think the film spent so much energy trying to extract emotion from us via brutal depictions of war and a terrifying (if not predictable) twist, it forgot that the best way to get your audience to feel is to invest in characters who are multi-dementional and not just a means to discovering and experiencing brutal depictions of war and a terrifying twist. Add to this a Radiohead soundtrack and bold Godardian intertitles and you get a film very confused about what it wants to be.

great soundtracks

Found it very procavative from the beginning and the story-telling was actually going very well until the 'shockshockshock' part. I always have this prejudice about the films shot by western directors about the middle east etc., but this movie never falls in that 'orientalist' department. Still worth seeing, but I am not sure whether I would like to see this film again after years.

Contrived beyond belief.

Overall a good effort, with a compelling story and great acting by the female leads. The problem for me with this movie is it's built in a way as though to deliberately confuse the audience, and along with some implausibilities and strange casting choices, it succeeds quite well at that. Oh, and also, Radiohead? What the hell?

A movie that keeps you engaged constantly. The movie unfolds itself like peeling layers of an onion. The movie weaves through the story by juxtaposing past and present. Everything falls into place in the end, the ending is shocking and powerful at the same time. An amazing movie.

That one scene, you'll know what I mean if you've seen it, is the most perfectly pitched creepiness I've encountered.

Poruszajacy dramat. Dobrze zagrany, dobrze zrealizowany.

lübnan, ic savas, falanjist, anne, öldürülen sevgili,

Keeps piling on the misery with such gusto that by the final act I was pretty much a cynic about the whole thing. But it is gripping, don't get me wrong. It's like an action soap-opera.

"The film's high drama, like its dexterous handling of narrative and its expert mixture of static framings and skillful tracking shots, seems like so much empty sensation." - Andrew Schenker

An interesting story, if a bit too far-fetched and too predictable. It is however executed wonderfully.

What a horrible story-i felt terrible after movie.the subject played with my emotions:)

A melodrama at its core, but wrapped in a mystery/investigation kind of plot and with an historically loaded setting. Villeneuve is inexplicably reluctant to reveal Lebanon and its locations and social factions by real name. It's thoroughly unmistakable, anyway.

a very powerful drama with a wonderful, heartbreaking, totally unexpected twist at the end... the multilayered story and use of flashbacks is lovely

Too tricky for a movie that started so honestly. The more the story advances the more tricks you see, leading to a kind of soap opera conclussion. The beginning seems to be like a shocking "The Bridges of Madison County", but having a much darker secret. Even with that conclussion aspect, it's an interesting movie, more than correctly shot, with good elements but sadly, a "let's get to the conclussion I wanted quickly and easily" in the last part I didn't like specially.

Extremely well-done, but I wouldn't want to watch it again because it has a rather frightening twist that I wouldn't have expected at all.

A very well-made film that packs a huge punch. Perfectly cast, the pace of the film suits the plot well, and the editing is terrific. Go into this one knowing nothing. A must see.

Although powerfully dramatized and provocatively shot -- the well-composed long shots are particularly lovely and the handheld following shots add energy -- I found the narrative rather unbelievable and the storytelling a bit disjointed. A mother is radicalized by the slaughter of innocents in a sectarian religious conflict in a country that might be Lebanon. She pays the price as does her family. The Greek ironies abound. Certainly worth a look.

It's not until it's over that you realise how shockingly well thought out and constructed this film is. Despite a slow start, the development into an intriguing mystery is like watching a flower unfold. The ending is very powerful and makes you appreciate how brilliantly written the story is. Villeneuve also does some interesting things with the camera, using abstract sound and light to mirror the characters' emotions. This is genre film-making wrapped up in a mature, arty and modern package.

The first 75 minutes constitute a relatively satisfying film. Then we go down tangent upon tangent and even though it's all connected in the end, the final dramatic revelation had me cringing. You can't fault the craft nor the acting. But the story and the watchability is low quality. For a better experience, also with a protagonist in the present finding out about horrors in the past, check out "Sarah's Key" which is similarly oneiric in structure and much more powerful.

A gut-wrenching story, adapted a bit too clinically. Performances were excellent all around.

Too neat for the outrages contained within.

If you want a well constructed story this certainly delivers, even if it is a little reliant on coincidences. Despite a runtime over 2 hours it's always moving and as the mystery unfolds we also get some interesting glimpses into the war torn middle east.

Starts slow, and builds to an incredible finale... powerful statements on bonds between family, war and human cruelty, this is the kind of film that can stay with you for a long time

The twist may be a tad "theatrical" but it's the most effective one in the last years. Great performances and hits the whole running time the right emotional notes.

Villeneuve folds the mother's history within the siblings' search, eloquently connecting the past to the present in a way that makes politics and morality matter.