Penance
Music Box Films | Release Date: November 14, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyNov 13, 2014
The overarching theme is the slow, trickling spread of evil; the old familiar story of violence begetting violence, which Kurosawa is able to render in terms that seem mysterious and sub-rational. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldNov 13, 2014
Mr. Kurosawa expertly modulates an uncanny flow of energies between shame and grief, between venal urges and high-minded moral demands. The women’s travails suggest something that’s part curse, part mythic cycle of guilt and part kaleidoscopic dread. Read full review
67
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonNov 12, 2014
It’s a reminder of what a tremendously talented writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is, and hopefully we’ll see him venturing back to the big screen sooner rather than later. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 10, 2014
The film is ultimately, and disappointingly, revealed to be a contraption that's less concerned with mental portraiture than with getting all of its expository ducks in a row. Read full review
60
Village VoiceSimon AbramsNov 11, 2014
While it doesn't cohere into anything more substantial than a collection of self-loathing anxieties, Japanese teledrama Penance is effectively unnerving on a scene-for-scene basis thanks to writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's preference for ambience over character-driven drama. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungNov 13, 2014
Complexly plotted, elegantly shot and orchestrated, this is the kind of long-winded, intermittently involving festival package that will earn the director of Tokyo Sonata more critical appreciation but will struggle to find a theatrical audience. For a film that requires nearly five hours of viewing investment, it feels terribly stingy on the emotional payoff. Read full review
40
The DissolveMike D'AngeloNov 11, 2014
Unfortunately, Penance is an example of a TV movie that definitely belongs on the small screen, to be watched piecemeal over the course of several days. Consumed in one gigantic, four-and-a-half-hour gulp, it becomes painfully repetitive and monotonous. Read full review
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58 Critic Reviews

6.0 User Reviews

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