It's a bewildering but deeply satisfying paradox, this constant, nearly silent collision in Tran's films of the visible world and the turbulent, unseen world.
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There are scenes that simply ask the audience to drink in the details, to enjoy the repast, just as much as follow the plot.
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Much of the film is oddly ambiguous, as if Tran used it to explore conflicts of tradition and modernity and never came up with any answers.
75
Portland Oregonian
Portland Oregonian
Tran's cinematography is delicate yet probing. Faces, especially eyes, tell much of the story.
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The cinematography is gorgeous from first frame to last, but the story occasionally rings false.
An oblique, vaguely sorrowful study in domestic emotion, structured around the small eruptions of feeling -- tenderness, anger, and joy -- that punctuate the slow serenity of daily life.
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
New York PostJonathan Foreman
For all its virtues, this is not a film to see on less than a good night's sleep.
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Filled with bird sounds, Vertical Ray is almost surreal in its paradise imagery -- the movie is a sultry, harmoniously expressionistic riot of pale greens and deep yellows.
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Story is fairly conventional and not especially well told, though as usual Tran's images are so sensual and beautiful that I was rarely bored or frustrated.