Paris 36
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: April 3, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
9
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A gleaming hunk of French period schmaltz expertly rendered by director Christophe Barratier. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Paris 36 has a beguilingly authentic sound and offers a blend of impassioned sentiment and harsh, even brutal grit Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The film is deliberately old-fashioned in its approach; the story line is resolutely linear and the production values are deluxe. It all makes for a fairly enjoyable, if schematic, backstage extravaganza. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's pleasant and amusing. If I had seen it before I was born, I would have loved it. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The nicest that can be said of this unapologetically schmaltzy, and not unenjoyable, affair is that it is the best 1936 musical made in 2009. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Barratier directs with a jaunty artifice more typically seen on stage, but with the exception of Arnezeder, his cast turns theatricality to its advantage. They're offering us a sunny fantasy during a cloudy time, and seem well aware that we're unlikely to resist. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Politics and art come together in predictable, moderately enjoyable fashion in Paris 36. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Hopelessly amateurish, the troupe is saved by a remarkably pretty young blonde called Douce with a sweet soprano to match her angel face. The gifted, unknown actress-singer who plays her, Nora Arnezeder, also saves the movie, which would otherwise blur into a mass of droopy, mustached, big-honkered Gallic character actors. Read full review
50
VarietyEddie Cockrell
Schematically scripted tale revels in its multiple story arcs, but shows signs of battle fatigue in the later reels. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The overstuffed film lumbers across clichés of the heart and of history until it reaches a big, tune-filled climax that isn't worth the wait. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A little like spending the holidays with strangers. The spirits are high, the relationships are warm, the personal stories have a shared history, and even though you're on the outside of things, you appreciate the people in a remote and perhaps admiring sort of way. Still, when it's time to leave, you're not sorry. Read full review
50
Washington PostMike Mayo
A handsomely made French musical that never really soars. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterPeter Brunette
The movie is almost rescued by the wonderful 1930's style songs (written by Reinhardt Wanger and Frank Thomas) that populate its final act. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The movie is essentially a pastiche, as musty as a flea market. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeEthan Gilsdorf
In short, the financial crisis and social upheaval of 1930s France never looked so appealing. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
Like Amélie's scrubbed-up "City of Lights," Paris 36 is an antiseptic arthouse trifle, so eager to soothe that it only numbs. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
In the end, it's much ado about nothing. Oh, the ennui, the ennui. Read full review
10
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
So shameless in its pandering, sentimental vision of Frenchness as to constitute something of a national embarrassment. Read full review
0
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's like a pastry that's been sitting on the shelf for 60 years. Read full review
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