The Beautiful Country
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 8, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The film achieves its power through a careful gathering of crucial details, in wordless glances, cruelties of nature and of man and the relentless determination to gain the promised land. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It is a straightforward, conventional narrative, charting seemingly endless cruelty and hardship, but rewards the patient with an eloquent climactic sequence that is impossible to predict. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Versatile, highly skilled Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland's poignant drama examines the lingering effects of U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
Generous in spirit and fearlessly observant, this tale of an outcast Vietnamese man's journey to freedom deserves a place of honor among the great films portraying emigrant tenacity. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The script, by newcomer Sabina Murray, is occasionally cloying as the naive hero falls for a bitter prostitute (Bai Ling), but its epic tale of two cultures tragically entwined is anchored by deep and elemental emotions. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Inside the Norwegian director's glove of empathy is a fist of unappeasable anger. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The Beautiful Country might be too slow-moving for some, but it has powerful performances and a multi-layered quality. It is an epic journey worth taking. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
The movie grows steadily more arresting as it goes on and saves its best parts for last. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The filmmakers bank against their impulse toward melodrama and deliver a reconciliation that is heartbreakingly understated. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWalter Addiego
Quiet, moving and beautifully shot. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
In the end, it's a heartening, rewarding experience to watch this journey--and, especially, its end. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
One of those hard-to-pin-down movies where you're not quite sure which sort of story the filmmakers wanted to tell. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The Beautiful Country is not a happy film by any means, but it does offer a fragile hope, that beauty exists at the end of every journey, if only one has the strength to finish the trip. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
Standout performance is by Nolte who, in the final 20 minutes, draws on a deep reservoir of playing broken romantic heroes to portray Binh's father. The subtle, resonant scenes between the two men are worth the price of admission. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
It is hard not to admire the independence and ambition of The Beautiful Country, even if the film does fall short of its epic intentions. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Bai Ling plays a resourceful prostitute from a Malaysian refugee camp who grows harder and more alienated by the day. Nick Nolte, Tim Roth and Temuera Morrison offer strong supporting performances. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Loses itself in melodrama, caricature and narrative missteps. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason Anderson
With its visual splendour, The Beautiful Country is indeed lovely to behold, but its story of human misery and survival doesn't always benefit from the painstaking art direction, picturesque vistas and surges of dramatic music. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
A gorgeous film, framed with an eye that makes every country seem beautiful in one way or another. It's probably fitting that the human element seems fragile and flat by comparison, but the contrast leaves Beautiful Country fairly bland. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
The Beautiful Country has an epic bearing, but a trite and troubled script makes it more a visual tirade than an engaging odyssey. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The subject is compelling but the story is very, very slow. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Provides a panorama without insight. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Feels like a manufactured Asian "Chocolat," which drives the label 'art house movie' even further into mainstream banality. Read full review
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