Opal Dream
Strand Releasing | Release Date: November 22, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The film's sweetness derives primarily from the relationship between Ashmol and his unusual sister, and draws much of its richness from the unfamiliar and fascinating world of opal prospecting. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
A heartwarming family fable that parents and kids can enjoy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
It's tear-jerker material but ends up being quite touching, and it's a good choice for family viewing. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerManny Lewis
And despite Kellyanne, at times, coming off as more annoying than sympathetic, the film succeeds because of the great lengths to which Ashmol goes to bring her peace of mind. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
An exceptional family film, arriving just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Directed with sensitivity by "The Full Monty's" Peter Cattaneo, it is the antithesis of the standard synthetic Hollywood family movie, which is all too often weighed down by ludicrously exaggerated special effects and stunts and glazed over by gross humor. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Charming enough. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Though there are no Montys, full or otherwise, the finale will lift you up. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Sophisticated cinephiles aren't likely to go ga-ga over this one, but Opal Dream is a worthwhile family film, graced with an ambivalent, bittersweet ending and just the right touch of cinematic poetry turning on the gemstone in its title. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterMegan Lehmann
A fanciful wisp of a film that feels slight at times. It's based on the slender novella "Pobby and Dingan," by Ben Rice, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Yet it winds up making some keen observations on the power of imagination. Read full review
50
VarietyJay Weissberg
From the first frames, when lollypops are offered to the camera, there's no escaping the saccharine miasma of whimsy enveloping Peter Cattaneo's Opal Dream. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The filmmaking here is flat, straight, and thoroughly lacking in poetry, and the script--co-written by Cattaneo, Rice, and Phil Traill--tells instead of showing. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
The film clearly means to celebrate the power of imagination, but while younger kids may find it charming, some parents may begin to wonder if the girl's obsessive fantasies don't warrant a trip to the local shrink. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The film squeezes out its feel-good messages like toothpaste from a tube. Read full review
40
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Rush screaming from anything that announces itself as "a movie for children and grown-ups of all ages." Slight and shamelessly saccharine, Opal Dream is devoted to the proposition that it takes an Australian-outback village to validate the imaginary friends of a blond child who is too sensitive for this world but not, alas, for this sappy movie. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
A warning to parents everywhere about the dangers of indulging irrational behavior, Opal Dream is a sickly sweet tale of deep dysfunction masquerading as family solidarity. Read full review
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