Popular reviews

• 

  Review by joshrowley ★★

  Curious; head-scratching; light; located; scenic; short; slight; thin; uneven; unsatisfying.

• 

  Review by Theyo Theyo ★★★

  The Luckiest & The Worst Person in the World

• 

  Review by ZacharyBinx ★★★

  GOOD. FOR. HER. 👏

• 

  Review by Malcolm Taylor ★★

  Canadian Film Fest, closing night screening. 

  Charming is indeed the right word to describe this projection of images set to an infectious ethnic score. Location photography in Malta makes the threadbare proceedings in this medieval setting very easy on the eyes. At a light run time under 90 mins it’s thankfully not a slog to get through. McElhone’s captivating features hold the screen. Just don’t expect the narrative to. This would play better as a travelogue. The conceit of McElhone taking over confessional duties is it’s strongest component. Most of the rest oscillates between grade school sensibilities and over wrought theatrics unconcerned with revealing character. Still, your irises may thank you for the break from the onslaught of VFX ubiquity.

  
  2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ ranked

• 

  Review by Zach Marsh ★★★★ 1

  It's honestly a little bit shameful that I'm apparently the only person on this entire platform who has seen Carmen. That doesn't even make sense. This is a lovely story that, sure, is laden with clichés, but they work, and Natascha McElhone is having the time of her life in the title role. People complain all the time that movies like this, ones made with a genuine passion, "don't get made anymore," those same people are currently complaining because WALL•E is joining the Criterion Collection, yet here we are, on a platform about film with a userbase of three-plus fucking million people, with a film that is in theaters, and somehow I'm the only person who's seen it.

  Make it make sense. Go see Carmen, then make it make sense.

  8/10

• 

  Review by Kevin Cormier ★★½

  Natascha McElhone plays the title role of Carmen, a woman who has spent her life taking care of her priest brother within the church system.  When he suddenly passes away, she spends time to try to discover who she is herself while being mistaken for a Priest.  Very well acted and beautifully shot.  
  Interesting film but didn’t become as engaged with it as much as I’d hoped.

• 

  Review by ivan 1

  where the hell was paul mescal wtf soap2day

• 

  Review by ShadowDenizen ★★★½

  A charming, enjoyable little film, even if the stakes are a bit low.

  Natasha Mcelhone carries this film on her shoulders and gives a standout performances well worthy of recognition!

• 

  Review by Mark ★★½

  It's a perfectly serviceable if lightweight film, but there's just no way that it adheres to the Academy's language restrictions for Best International Feature. That must have been two thirds English if not more. What's the point of even submitting something like this?

  I can only conclude that it's a publicity stunt to draw attention from Death Racers before the inevitable disqualification. It worked on me. Well played, Malta.

• 

  Review by bensears ★★★

  Nothing groundbreaking here, just a light, inconsequential character study of a woman who stops listening to everyone else and starts listening to herself. McElhone is great, and Valerie Buhagiar makes a strong first impression.

• 

  Review by Mikael ★★★½

  A sweet and cozy drama that makes you want to travel to Malta right away. It's the kind of movie where the stakes are pretty low and you shouldn't worry too much that something bad would happen - simply put, a feel-good movie.

  Natascha McElhone is great at both playing someone twice her age as well as half her age. Just very cute and light.

• 

  Review by mcjingles ★★★½

  "ugh, she's so avoidant..." 
  "mom, she probably hasn't slept with anybody in, like, 30 years"
  "yeah, and she's not getting any younger!"

  i kind of wish the entire movie was just carmen following around pigeons and giving advice in the confession box tbh. the parts where she was out of town dragged a little bit- especially the parts about her Tragic Backstory, which should have been the most impactful, but it just felt kinda disconnected from the parts of the movie that i personally liked most.  
  not gonna spoil it but the part of the ending where you see how her advice made an impact damn near made me CRY. would have been cool if the movie focused more on carmen paradoxically finally finding freedom by serving strangers out of desperation to heal from decades of joylessly serving who she should love most out of obligation. but movie romance works too i guess.