Aaron Charles InSession Film May 10, 2024 B+

Chiklis gives the best performance of his career, and the scenes between Smith and Chung are some of the film’s strongest.

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Brian T. Carney Washington Blade Dec 7, 2022

The black and white cinematography is stunning and the richly nuanced performances are heart-breaking.

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Michael Cuby them. Nov 16, 2022

In spite of its somber source material, 1985 finds a surprisingly happy note to end on.

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Ben Turner The Pink Lens Sep 1, 2021 4/5

Its performances are strikingly authentic and it does well in depicting the personal pain of an international crisis through the lens of domestic normalcy.

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Jason Adams My New Plaid Pants Jul 2, 2021

Gorgeous grainy black-and-white sheen - the feeling of sparse quiet, the unspeakable made manifest...

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Matthew St. Clair Cinema Sentries Oct 2, 2020

1985 ends up hitting you in a powerful yet understated manner.

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Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 17, 2020 4.0/4.0

A remarkable film featuring an absolutely stunning performance by lead Cory Michael Smith.

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José Martín El antepenúltimo mohicano Jul 21, 2020 5/5

One of those little masterpieces that... are very much worth discovering. [Full review in Spanish]

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Elsa Fernández-Santos El Pais (Spain) Jun 11, 2020

Everything is treated with the delicacy that is required to share this painful story. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Paula Arantzazu Ruiz Cinemanía (Spain) May 29, 2020 3.5/5

[Cory Michael Smith's] performance supports the entire film. [Full review in Spanish]

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Andrew F. Peirce The Curb Apr 4, 2020

Yen Tan embraces the quiet, and embraces the domesticity of central-American life, celebrating what makes an American family something worth aspiring for, while equally exploring the troubles that are inherent with that life.

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Andiee Paviour Nobody's Reading This But Me Jun 23, 2019 4/5

Assuming you can go home again, the visit might not be the smoothest ride of your life. That sad concept resonates through Yen Tan's drama, set in the nightmare onset of AIDS.

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David 'Mad Dog' Bradley Adelaide Review May 15, 2019 7/10

...marked by beautiful black and white cinematography, quietly moving performances and a sustained mood of tenderness and terrible pain.

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John McDonald Australian Financial Review May 14, 2019

Tan stresses the tragic dimension of the story, but also its ordinariness. It's a tale of a boy and his family that could be played out in any American town, in 1985 or today.

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Peter Gray Qnews May 4, 2019

A quiet, heartbreaking film that never overdoes the melodramatic trappings of its story.

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David Stratton The Australian Apr 25, 2019 4/5

All of the acting is very good, although some American commentators have remarked on the fact no one has a Texas accent. This won't matter much to an Australian audience.

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Debbie Zhou Rough Cut Apr 25, 2019

...humbly pairs a desire for normalcy against a larger moment in history, with consequences that bleed into the personal.

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Paul Byrnes Sydney Morning Herald Apr 25, 2019 4/5

What really distinguishes the film is that it gets deep inside this broken family without becoming histrionic or accusatory. Tan avoids any hint of sentimentality, concentrating on the pain instead.

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Harris Dang Impulse Gamer Apr 23, 2019 4/5

A fantastic little gem of a film that succeeds due to its wonderfully nuanced performances, stellar filmmaking and the honest and genuine approach of its storytelling.

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Jack Sargeant FILMINK (Australia) Mar 21, 2019 17/20

...a film with a quiet effective power.

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