Pola X
WinStar Cinema | Release Date: September 8, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
4
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
It's compelling, poetic, rebellious, funny and one of the few movies that feels like it's been culled from another time and place yet broodingly bends modern societal taboos. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
A tough picture to wrap your brain around. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Plays out the notion of the forces of light being inexorably drawn to those of darkness, of the older generation betraying the younger and maybe even an indictment of European indifference to the Balkans' agony. Read full review
80
Film.comRobert Horton
I'm not sure how elaborately I could defend Pola X, but I loved watching it. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
The film is at once breathtaking and ridiculous, and it's the tension between these two extremes, as well as Carax's own intoxicating style, that makes it essential viewing. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Pola X has enough fireworks to keep you in your seat. When it's over, you'll know you've had an experience. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Searingly potent and suggestively supple, Carax's images are rich with emotion and ideas. Read full review
76
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
A film that's bound to be loathed for its irrationalities and narrative drunkenness, just as it will be beloved for its original risks and manic visual energy. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I would rather see one movie like this than a thousand "Bring It Ons." Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Frantic and out of control - and great fun to watch. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
There's only one Carax, uncompromisingly ambiguous. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
This moody, rapturous adaptation of Pierre, Herman Melville's gothic follow-up to "Moby Dick," is never less than seriously romantic. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
A less confrontational, though positively gushing modernization of "Pierre, or the Ambiguities." Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Long and lugubrious. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Carax has a wonderful cinematic eye and a personal feeling for editing rhythms, and his sense of overripeness and excess virtually defines him. Read full review
50
VarietyDerek Elley
An often intriguing, sometimes hypnotic work, but one that quickly starts to unravel in the final hour as it becomes clear there’s not much beneath the emperor’s clothes. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Carax's cinematic imagination makes it worth viewing by movie buffs with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for explicit sex. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Through Carax's eyes, even squalor looks fabulous. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Frenzied, gothic nonsense. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Carax, with Pola X, has become a parody of himself with a self-indulgent, overreaching style that many viewers will find a struggle to watch -- provided they can contain their contempt for pretentiousness. Read full review
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