Blind Shaft
Kino Video | Release Date: February 4, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Blind Shaft means to leave the viewer dazed, and it does. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Deftly swings to a spartan, engrossing climax, and the final twists spell out what the murderers are made of and the setting responsible for creating them. It is a true piece of film magic. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
A brilliantly spare and poignant tragicomedy that projects such savage self-criticism of China's "economic miracle" that the film has been banned at home. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Blind Shaft, a well-acted and well-produced film, is a quiet though searing indictment of contemporary China. Read full review
80
VarietyDerek Elley
Has a low-key power that comes as much from its off-handed approach to the dark material as from any manipulative techniques. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Powerful stuff from writer-director Li Yang that's both an uncompromising indictment of the human cost of China's evolving market economy and an nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Powerful yet ambiguous. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Makes for gripping, merciless drama. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Variously been described as a thriller, a muckraking exposé and even a satire -- and its refusal to fit neatly into a genre is only part of why it's so utterly disturbing. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Less striking for its storyline than for the world it presents -- a rural moonscape of coal-dust, casual environmental disaster, and atavistic behavior. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Good storytelling. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneEllen Fox
The lead actors, Li Yixiang and Wang Shuangbao, are completely believable, sucking us into their casually cruel world. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Slow going, but it provides an absorbing glimpse of a rarely seen side of Chinese life. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Set in the blue gray gloom of industrial China, this cunning noir focuses on two ruthless coal miners. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
A little slow for a crime story, and a little obvious with its anti-capitalism message. Read full review
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