The film is as brilliant as it is cruel, and brings together the sweetness of intelligence and cinematic know-how with its characters' overflowing bitterness... Its explosive elegance is near perfect, yet it successfully manages to keep the audience at an emotional distance." - Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa.
"I swear, it filled me with unadulterated joy." A.O. Scott, NY Times
"A marvelously rich visual, intellectual and emotional experience, one that I expect will grow deeper with repeat viewings." Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"Blurring the lines between TV soap opera and tight narrative, Desplechin's multi-generational family saga is a bravura piece, based on witty writing, inventive storytelling, and superlative acting of a large ensemble headed by the regal Catherine Deneuve." Emanuel Levy
"In working to keep the audience off-center...Desplechin artfully makes the well-worn family weekend plot endearing again." Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
