Everlasting Moments
IFC Films | Release Date: March 6, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Troell, at 78, continues to turn out films that will last for as long as there are movies. No wonder he feels such a deep connection to Maria in Everlasting Moments. The film is one hero's salute to another. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It is a great story of love and hope, told tenderly and without any great striving for effect. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
As magical as it is realistic. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A movie like Everlasting Moments comes along maybe once in a decade. Read full review
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Everlasting Moments both is a tribute to Larsson -- a relative of the director's wife, Jan (author of the original story) -- and a love letter to the art of photography. Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Artistically on a plane with or near the vet filmmaker's best work, this period drama about a woman slowly discovering her metier is an artisanal creation par excellence. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
This exquisite film by the Swedish master Jan Troell is about seeing clearly, and fearlessly. It's also about subdued passion, the birth of an artist and a woman's struggle to live her own life. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Troell’s entrancingly beautiful Everlasting Moments uses surfaces--light, texture, faces--to hint at another world, a shadow realm. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Quiet, observant, and intensely moving whenever Heiskanen is on screen, and it has a valedictory sweep that feels like a summing up. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
An affecting film that manages to find glimmers of beauty in the encroaching bleakness, and coaxing richly dimensional performances which, like Maria's photographs, transcend the conventionally black and white. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The result is an experience that, even as it feels a bit familiar, is nonetheless engrossing and satisfying. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Leisurely unfolding, much like a fat novel, this turn-of-the-century Swedish drama has a warm, enveloping feel. It's flawlessly steeped in early 20th century atmosphere, costumes, and culture, but a gripping page-turner this family saga is not. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There's something old-fashioned about Everlasting Moments. Although the shots are beautifully composed, they are classically represented. Both the filmmaking methods and the storytelling are uncomplicated. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Heiskanen plays her layers beautifully, alternately revealing a talented artist stymied by poverty and marital problems, and a woman fiercely devoted to family first. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineNathan Southern
On a narrative level, Troell seems to occasionally take on more than he can handle; from time to time he leans toward an ensemble approach, with multiple, intersecting stories, but the film lacks the length to sustain this, so we are left with fragments of substories that never fully blossom. Read full review
75
New York PostStaff (Not credited)
Heiskanen is a revelation as the put-upon wife, and the cinematography (some by Troell) effortlessly transports us back 100 years. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
All staged as a harsh poem of survival, with no great psychological interest, yet the ending carries a surprise feminist tug that’s worth the wait. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
There is a good deal of honest charm in this story, and in the three principal performances. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
Artful filmmaking of the old school. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
In the films of Swedish director Jan Troell (The Emigrants, The New Land), ordinary lives assume epic dimensions, and this drama, based on the experiences of his wife's protofeminist grandmother, doesn't sugarcoat the hardships of the early 1900s. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's another satisfying benefit to Everlasting Moments. It's gloriously absent of the hyper-speed anxiety that passes for storytelling on our multiplex screens. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
This unhurried, novelistic movie is worth looking into. Read full review
60
EmpireAnna Smith
Superficially interesting in many ways but this doesn't really engage on a deeper level. Read full review
50
Village VoiceElla Taylor
The movie satisfies for an hour, but never quite persuades that its subject is worth two. Read full review
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