Walk on Water
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: March 4, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
At times too movieish, yet Ashkenazi creates a memorable figure: a spy who operates - admirably - out of the most unyielding nationalist conviction, only to learn that he needs to let some of that conviction go. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Its suggestion that Israel, of all nations, should know better than to persecute minorities within and across its borders, give the film a thrilling universal appeal. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Fox keeps the suspense story at a low boil throughout, allowing the politics to emerge as the characters deepen. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It denotes a minor movie miracle: how with intelligence, imagination and craft a small film can work in really large ways. Read full review
80
EmpireSam Toy
The uniformly excellent performances feel real and familiar. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Compassionate and marvelously acted, although a subplot about the gay grandson slows the story down for a while. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Hits a bulls-eye. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
There’s something happening here and it isn’t exactly clear. What is clear is that Eytan Fox may yet make a great film for the 21st century. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Remains gripping until the final 15 minutes, when a series of sudden, unjustified plot twists leave us shaking our heads. Read full review
70
The New York TimesLawrence Van Gelder
Though it is marred by an implausible climax and a cloying conclusion, this movie's quiet intelligence sneaks up on you, marking the director as a talent to watch. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The new Israeli film Walk on Water is complex and paradoxical, at times frustrating but always involving. Something like the country that produced it. Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
All political thrillers, good or less good, have moral implications...Walk on Water, one of the better ones, has grave moral implications and does not ignore them or merely utilize them. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
Explores a wealth of issues and conflicting ideologies. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Fox's film seems to say that the kind of saintly purity that would enable one to walk on water -- or to kill with impunity and without repercussions -- doesn't exist. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Though its characters aren't terribly complex, and its plot holds few surprises, the screenplay (in English, German, and Hebrew) amounts to a worthy treatise on the need to forgo revenge. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The film nearly drowns in earnest morality. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneEllen Fox
Despite the film's pat plot turns and instructional tone, there are moments of charm, thanks to the fetching, committed cast. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
The Israeli film works best in isolated spots early on as a series of intriguing character studies. Upon reaching to become a lesson to the world, however, Walk on Water goes off the deep end. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
An unexpected ode to peace. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Unfortunately for Fox, the softer his movie gets, the more Ashkenazi and Berger grow to resemble Ben Stiller and Ashton Kutcher in some unreleased, homo-erotic comic romance. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Fox falters a bit with the narrative, but offers a fascinating treatment of the issues facing the descendents of Jewish victims and their German persecutors, as well as one of the most chilling birthday parties ever filmed. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Well-meaning but implausible story. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
When it unexpectedly shifts back into its initial thriller mode, Walk On Water loses in human drama what it gains in tidiness, revealing itself as a film that carries more weight in its light scenes than its heavy moments can sustain. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Despite its flaws, Walk on Water is a sometimes engaging story of emotional opposites who become mystifyingly attracted to each other. Read full review
50
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Attempts the miraculous but achieves the adequate. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Fox can't decide if Walk on Water is a terrorist thriller or a gay buddy story, and neither can the viewer. Read full review
50
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
The complex questions Walk on Water raises receive only confused answers. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Walk on Water makes you wonder what the Mossad is teaching its field agents these days. Read full review
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