Movie Review for Open Hearts

Summary: Cecille and Joachim are a young couple whose relationship is nothing short of ideal. When a tragic accident separates the pair, Niels, a married doctor, tries to console Cecille. As they grow closer, their relationship threatens Niels’ almost equally idyllic marriage to Marie.

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Steve Murray of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/0)
            A small-scale domestic drama with large-scale feeling.

By Kimberly Jones of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Open Hearts' four lead characters (subtly, wonderfully played) shatter, then piece themselves bac...

By Nev Pierce of BBC (7/0)
            Acutely observed and beautifully written.

By Larry Carroll of Countingdown.com (7/0)
            A startlingly real film that packs remarkable emotional power, and gives a glimpse of the kind of...

By Arthur Lazere of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            Written and acted with intelligence, sensitivity, and insight

By Brian Mckay of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            The strong script and performances, combined with the spartan Dogme restrictions, bring out all t...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            Honesty, conveyed by the actors' unsentimental performances, Anders Thomas Jensen's truth-seeking...

By Boyd van Hoeij of europeanfilms.net (7/0)
            Arguably, the dogma movement has found its most accomplished expression to date in Open hearts.

By Kevin Lally of Film Journal International (7/0)
            A story of love, pain, betrayal and forgiveness that is absolutely compelling, from first moment ...

By Rich Cline of Film Threat (7/0)
            This feels so real that it takes our breath away -- it's moving, profoundly involving and deeply ...

By Jules Brenner of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            The production values demonstrate that a well-told story doesn't depend on a big budget.

By Michael Rechtshaffen of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            At a point when the whole Dogme exercise seemed to be losing creative steam, along comes Bier wit...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            The acting is so natural that you'll swear the actors are cheating by not acting at all.

By Ella Taylor of L.A. Weekly (7/0)
            Bier has seized on the freedom and spontaneity made possible by the Dogme program, without taking...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            The gritty, low-budget realism approach of the Dogme manifesto gives immediacy and edge to the ra...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            The plot is shot through with coincidence and irony...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            A picture of lovely simplicity and directness that reveals something of the complexity of the hum...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            Simply deliciously top-heavy with pain, bitterness, release, and fervor --- and pregnant with una...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (7/0)
            Who would have thought the oft and easily maligned method of storytelling would have lasted this ...

By C.W. Nevius of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...because it is made clear from the start that there is no chance of an uplifting ending, viewer...

By C.W. Nevius of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            There is no doubting the heart-rending impact of the story. But because it is made clear from the...

By Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...benefits from the best qualities of Dogme, the manifesto that was supposed to get cinema back ...

By Nick Schager of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Biers crafts her familiar story with equal doses of austerity and sympathy.

By Urban Cinefile Critics of Urban Cinefile (7/0)
            Unusual and provocative, Open Hearts is a genuine romantic drama written and delivered with heart...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Stephen Holden of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...emotionally devastating...

By Kathy Cano Murillo of Arizona Republic (3/4) No reference
            Open Hearts is a heart-wrenching soap opera that even The Young and the Restless can't compete wi...

By Kim Williamson of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            Sans set lamps, Bier faces the responsibility of lighting her characters from the inside, so to s...

By Robert K. Elder of Chicago Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Director Bier lays bare her characters' frail allegiances, bringing her audience into the searing...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            Refreshingly honest.

By Kevin Lally of E! Online (3/4) No reference
            ...exceptionally well-acted...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Brent Simon of Entertainment Today (3/4) No reference
            A movie that doesn’t have much hefty probative value in the traditional American sense, yet the c...

By Rich Cline of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            ...a strong story about love strained to the breaking point.

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...a powerful, well-acted drama...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            As the characters' hearts are buffeted by fate, resilient and changeable and raw as they are, we ...

By Jay Boyar of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Open Hearts is far from inaccessible, but it demands a higher level of concentration than most bi...

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            Has the wherewithal to follow through on its dramatic dalliances, no matter how gloomy the prospe...

                         Reviews of Open Hearts
By Steven Rea of Philadelphia Inquirer (3/4) No reference
            Bier knows what she's doing, and the performances are expert and affecting.

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/4) No reference
            One instance where Dogme's subtraction of extraneous elements turns out to be a plus.

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) No reference
            What Open Hearts does best is capture the raw, frank essence of hurt.

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            A movie that really works.

By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (6/1) Not Reachable
            It is as emotionally raw and wrenching as life itself.

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