A Song for Martin
First Look International | Release Date: December 21, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Viveka Seldahl and Sven Wollter will touch you to the core in a film you will never forget -- that you should never forget. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesLael Loewenstein
From its invitingly upbeat overture to its pathos-filled but ultimately life-affirming finale, "Martin" is a masterfully conducted work. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Starts at the beginning and goes straight through to the inevitable end, unblinkingly. It doesn't relieve the pressure, as "Iris" does, with flashbacks to happier days. Read full review
80
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Scenes from a marriage unfolding at the limits of love and personality. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
August, who also made "Pelle the Conqueror" and "House of the Spirits," steers this story to its stirring conclusion with firm lack of sentimentality. Read full review
80
VarietyGunnar Rehlin
A moving love story with two exquisite central performances. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Sven Wollter and Viveka Seldahl give superb performances as the couple, a once-vigorous conductor and his orchestra's concertmistress. But soon ... well, you know the drill. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Doesn't sugarcoat the painful realities of Alzheimer's or the difficult decisions faced by relatives of its victims, but by film's end, its clear-eyed melancholy winds up feeling strangely uplifting. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A touching examination of the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, made even more so by the extraordinary chemistry between Swedish actor Sven Wollter and his real-life wife, Viveka Seldahl, who died shortly after the film was completed. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
August so firmly establishes characters of Martin and Barbara and their relationship, so when the disease does enter the picture, the film does not suddenly become about that; the focus clearly remains on the effect it takes on the people. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Watching it, I kept imagining the depth of feeling Ingmar Bergman and his troupe might have brought to the same material. As much as A Song for Martin hurts, it doesn't quite go the distance. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The movie, for all its sincerity, becomes clinical and repetitious, though its unsparing vision of the fragility of identity can give you a shudder. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderTed Shen
Only August's assured direction and the leads' solid performances elevate this above a TV "disease of the week" movie. Read full review
50
New York PostMegan Lehmann
This slow-moving Swedish film offers not even a hint of joy, preferring to focus on the humiliation of Martin as he defecates in bed and urinates on the plants at his own birthday party. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Starts in one direction, then performs a cruel narrative fake-out, sandwiching together two different movies that are scarcely related. Read full review
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