Hank Sartin Chicago Reader Apr 1, 2010

The appearance of circus performers in any film not by Fellini usually bodes ill, and it does so here.

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jul 3, 2005 B-

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Chris Barsanti Film Threat Nov 12, 2003 3/5

a family saga told with all the muscle of the best Sergio Leone western.

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Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) Jun 12, 2003 3/4

A sumptuously filmed parable on the futility of violence.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Sep 27, 2002 C

A family blood feud between neighbors over land in the rural sugarcane fields of the Brazil of 1910.

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Mark Caro Chicago Tribune Jul 20, 2002 3.5/4

A bleak, beautiful cinematic fable driven by the brutal logic of blood feuds and transformed by an overpowering sense of wonder.

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Ryan Cracknell Apollo Guide Jul 13, 2002 73/100

Gets away with its shortfalls almost solely on the basis of its cinematography.

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Chris Hewitt St. Paul Pioneer Press Jul 11, 2002 2/4

The first time I saw the Brazilian Behind the Sun, there were no subtitles, and I couldn't understand a word. The second time, it had subtitles, and, to tell you the truth, the first time was better.

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Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Jun 15, 2002 4/5

Poignant and touching.

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Bruce Kirkland Jam! Movies May 4, 2002 4/5

[An] example of how old-fashioned cinema can still be quietly thrilling.

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Geoff Pevere Toronto Star May 3, 2002 3/5

Salles' movie taps into matters that are at once ancient and mythical and, needless to say, headline-fresh.

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Rick Groen Globe and Mail May 3, 2002 2/4

Salles starts with the loudly trumpeted theme, then tacks on a slim plot to justify the clamour.

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Rod Armstrong Reel.com Apr 26, 2002 3.5/4

As a story about two warring families, it is poignant, beautifully shot, and powerful. As an allegory reflecting on the cycles of violence that threaten all of our futures, it is absolutely necessary.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Apr 24, 2002 1.5/4

Becomes nothing more than a waiting game -- an annoying, endless deathwatch.

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Neil Smith BBC.com Apr 22, 2002 4/5

Full of poetic imagery, dazzling photography and heartfelt performances from a mostly unknown cast.

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Sean Axmaker Seattle Post-Intelligencer Apr 19, 2002 C+

There isn't a line that doesn't echo with heavy meaning or a character that has a life outside his or her dramatic purpose in this allegory.

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Moira MacDonald Seattle Times Apr 19, 2002 2.5/4

A lovely journey, but it's like a picture book whose text is merely incidental.

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Edward Guthmann San Francisco Chronicle Apr 19, 2002 3/4

Salles is a fine director with the ability to invest moments with a sense of tragedy and inexorable fate.

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Susan Stark Detroit News Apr 19, 2002 3/4

Salles here gives a story of inter-familial feuding and violence the kind of resonance that readily invites a leap to wider implications.

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Renee Graham Boston Globe Apr 19, 2002 3/4

Poignant and wrenching.

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