The Other Son
Cohen Media Group | Release Date: October 26, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 24, 2012
When the mistake is discovered, how do the families react? What disturbs them more: that their son has been raised as an enemy or that he has been raised in another religion? That's where The Other Son gets complicated. Read full review
80
Time OutMatt SingerOct 23, 2012
The cast's performances are so gut-wrenching (particularly from Emmanuelle Devos and Areen Omari as the boys' equally empathic mothers) that the film's hopeful message and abundance of heart prove impossible to resist. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanNov 18, 2012
The movie doesn't need to preach a "we're all equal" message. When we watch the boys bond with their new kin over food or music, then see the lines of Palestinians plodding through armed checkpoints to reach jobs or visit Israeli friends, we get the point. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoNov 2, 2012
Lévy gets expectedly strong work from the veteran Devos and outstanding performances from Sitruk and Dehbi. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 26, 2012
Some may scoff when the boys exhibit traits and interests derived from the biological parents they never knew, but The Other Son is such a disarming feat that cynics will get left at the checkpoint. Read full review
75
NPRElla TaylorOct 25, 2012
Sentimental? Certainly, but in a part of the world where hope and optimism haven't shown their faces in a long time, it's hard not to feel carried along by the generously conciliatory spirit that warms The Other Son, as it did "The Band's Visit." Movies have rarely been known to change the world, but you never know. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisOct 25, 2012
It's done persuasively enough that you wonder how you'd feel under similar circumstances. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaOct 25, 2012
A parablelike melodrama with obvious symbolic meaning. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerOct 23, 2012
Making a feel-good movie about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be a recipe for disaster, but French writer-director Lorraine Levy manages to avoid many, if not all, of the pitfalls in her touching family drama. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackDec 12, 2012
Cinematically well-made, The Other Son is nevertheless workmanlike. The actors are all excellent, the storytelling compassionate, and the overall sense one takes from the film is more humane than political. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeOct 25, 2012
The Other Son is played with warmth and conviction by its cast. But it's also a little pat and toothless, set in an Israel where not even the notorious border crossings seem that difficult. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 25, 2012
This beautifully photographed drama is well-played throughout with great conscience without becoming heavy-handed. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 25, 2012
Ms. Lévy is rescued from her maudlin, preachy tendencies by the skill and sensitivity of the actors, who turn a wobbly parable of tolerance into a graceful and touching story of real people in a surreal situation. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 25, 2012
Ms. Levy's film gets to say affecting things about the mysteries of identity, and the ironies of ancient enmity. If we can assume, from the nature of the premise, that Joseph and Yacine will soon accept their situation and become friends, we can also assume, from the course of history, that the Israelis and Palestinians will continue to resist doing the same. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayOct 24, 2012
The Other Son's setup is too contrived, carried along by conversations that are either confrontational or artificially elusive. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 25, 2012
The Other Son is a case of good intentions overwhelming the inherent drama - quite simply, political correctness got the best of it. The French director is so focused on covering all the bases, and ensuring a sense of equal empathy - and screen time - for the plight of both families, she leaves the film struggling to get beyond a log-jam of life lessons. Read full review
50
VarietyBoyd van HoeijOct 23, 2012
An adequate if never surprising effort from French helmer Lorraine Levy. Read full review
50
Village VoiceSimon AbramsOct 23, 2012
Ham-fisted dialogue and clichéd characterizations trump genuine chemistry in The Other Son, a contrived Franco-Israeli drama about two 18-year-olds, an Israeli and a Palestinian, accidentally switched at birth. Read full review
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