Divided We Fall
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment | Release Date: June 8, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Washington PostRita Kempley
Profound, powerful Czech import takes a tragicomic approach to the Holocaust, though unlike Benigni's film, the movie does not sentimentalize those caught up in the Nazi dragnet. Read full review
40
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
Demonstrates that even if you live in a country intimately familiar with fascist occupation, you might still not have the least clue how to communicate that experience on film.
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The tonal elegance of this black comedy set in a dark time -- is boldly dependent on performances that tug at taut lines of moral complexity. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
In its compassionate absurdism and underlying dark humor, the movie seeks to reestablish contact with the Czech new wave. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Divided We Fall briskly, often hilariously, forbids us to wallow in the specious comfort of untainted local heroes or irredeemable villains. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
The film treats the ensuing issues of conscience and compromise with subtlety and warmth. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
This a deeply humane and affecting movie, surprisingly gentle in spite of its black-comic tinge, and without the slightest hint of schmaltz. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Not only is the film that good, it's also that wonderfully, inescapably Czech. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
The result is a lovely movie, one that allows its characters unexpected spurts of growth and regression, darkness and grace.
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Audiences will talk about how satisfying this movie is. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Bears no resemblance to the smarmy fraud that Roberto Benigni perpetrated in "Life Is Beautiful."
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The film's triumph - and it is a triumph - in the end rests on the ability of Hrebejk and his actors to convince us that they never stop being normal people.
70
Chicago ReaderMark Peranson
An amiable black comedy. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Divided We Fall is intended to be restorative, but its wish fulfillments, while charming, are also a bit too gaga for that. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The filmmakers explore not only the banality of evil, but also the banality of goodness, and the ridiculousness, as well as the tragedy, of their collision. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
None of this is funny, the surreal touches are ridiculous and the final fantasy sequence, in which the nameless ghosts of the murdered Wiener family smile on Josef, is simply nauseating. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Based on a true story, the movie takes us through some harrowing times. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Parts of the movie play like French farce, but ultimately Hrebejk uses very simple cadences to unveil, movingly, the big picture. Read full review
70
VarietyEddie Cockrell
Confronts an incendiary topic head-on with grace, style, compassion and exquisitely practical wit. Read full review
70
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
Were it not for the gravity of the setting, the movie could just as easily be a comedy -- with everybody play-acting and doors opening and shutting and the repercussions of lies multiplying geometrically -- as a drama. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Hrebejik directs with a sure hand, deftly balancing comedy and drama in a most involving and satisfying manner.
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Divided We Fall has a lot going for it, but its Places in the Heart ending, sentimental and incongruous, helps ensure that it will not find a place in a demanding audience's heart or mind. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Has the literary richness, depth of character and tone that such a morally difficult, powerful narrative requires.
More From This Movie

69 Critic Reviews

7.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL