Up and Down
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 25, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Always hard-hitting and often grimly, revealingly satirical. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Foreign films can be as enchanting as ever, and perspective-expanding too. The latest proof is Up and Down, a wonderfully funny, giddily intricate Czech comedy.
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Up and Down captures Prague life with a fervor that's comical but a longing that's serious; no one is easy to pigeonhole. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A powerful Czech drama with comic flourishes. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
This fluidly paced film, with its keen observation of the confused longing for love, family and stability in an inherently unstable world, nonetheless keeps faith with the Czech genius for holding the tonal line between tragedy and the absurd. Read full review
90
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Ought to gain some viewers here with its dark sense of humor and stylish cinematography by Jan Malir. Director Jan Hrebejk names Mike Leigh as an influence, but frankly he's way cooler. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneAchy Obejas
All of these folks are damaged souls, trying their best to find purpose and forgiveness. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A bruising, dark comedy. Read full review
80
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
It's agreeable to see a picture that holds us without perspiring to do so. We are treated not as an audience but as café chums to whom a story is being told Read full review
80
VarietyEddie Cockrell
A vibrant, immediate treatise on love and cultural identity in a complex new world of fluid borders and deep suspicions in the stunning new Czech drama Up and Down. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
It skips from buoyant satire to domestic melodrama, leaving behind a curious mix of emotions. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Accomplished and affecting art house fare. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Buoyed by an unreserved humanism and a cheerful sense of the absurd. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Provocative and entertaining. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Haunting little film, whose chaotic universe is churned up by the conflict between the haves and the have-nots. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The result is an absorbing look at a country still struggling to adjust more than a decade after the fall of communism. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Absurdity and poignancy merge in the carefully observed Czech film Up and Down. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Lacks any formulas or solutions, and is content to show us its complicated characters, their tangled lives, and the way that our need to love and be loved can lead us in opposite directions. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Not an ordinary film. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
An accomplished film that uses dark humor to leaven its serious topics. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The film bears a resemblance to such multicharacter dramas as Robert Altman's ''Short Cuts" and Paul Thomas Anderson's ''Magnolia" -- like them, it's a portrait of a society straining at the seams -- but it manages the neat trick of being both charming and bilious. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Up and Down is not exactly the toughest movie on the block, but especially compared to most American comedies, it conveys a sense of scrofulous rue. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Has the look and feel of Euro-Altman (vastly superior to Euro-Disney, mind you). Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Uneven and erratic and far too busy, its flashes of brilliance dimmed by overambitious meanderings. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Hrebejk's film remains clear-eyed and satisfyingly complex right to the bitter end. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Sags into a dreary, humorless family melodrama. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The screenplay is chock-full of political and social observation tarnished by uneven ­acting and editing. The clumsy humor doesn't translate well. Read full review
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