The Same River Twice
Balcony Releasing | Release Date: September 10, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatEric Campos
Congratulations to Robb Moss for making such a crowd-pleaser. But more importantly, congratulations to Moss for having such interesting friends. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Other documentaries have crisscrossed between time frames, but Moss' beguiling The Same River Twice represents one of the most effective uses of the device. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
The title of Robb Moss' documentary, The Same River Twice, draws directly from Greek philosopher Heraclitus' claim that "It is impossible to step in the same river twice." Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Intimate, quietly illuminating documentary. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Has the built-in curiosity value of watching real people evolve on camera -- a fascination increased by subjects' original, variably sustained commitment to countercultural ideals. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A piercingly poignant then-and-now portrait of five friends. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Moss offers few startling revelations, but gently gets at the truth of his subjects' lives by playing the past against the present. Read full review
70
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
If you can get past the "Big Chill" setup, there is a fine piece of moviemaking here. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Moss has an acute feeling for structure and juxtaposition and for the quality and sensibility of his friends. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Far from an arthritic exercise in hippie nostalgia. There is a seasoned richness and vivid specificity to these lives, for all their hurts and losses. Yet the movie is shot through with an undeniable note of elegiac wistfulness. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The old footage is definitely compelling, but once Moss trains his focus on the quotidian present, the movie takes on too much water to stay afloat. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
It's a generous document of cultural passage, and not incidentally, the sexiest naturally nudist American movie since Murnau's "Tabu." Moss, however, keeps himself out of the picture and neglects massive amounts of context that might've made Same River a stunner. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Poignant documentary. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
The filmmaker presents a portrait of the emotional and physical effects of aging and maturity that is occasionally poignant but not particularly deep. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Only marginally interesting. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Youth recedes, the body decays, life is a compromised thing: These are truths. But they're not fresh truths, and Moss's riverdogs are hardly the first to have discovered them. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The movie offers glimmers of truth about the aging process, but there is always the sense that Moss only wades knee-high into this river. Read full review
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