60
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxTwenty years ago, Li's film might have served as a warning; today, it rues a dehumanizing economic system run rampant that leaves one sad slave wife to muse, "It's easy to die. It's living that's hard."
- 80Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasThis is a resolutely tough-minded, beautifully crafted film so compelling as to make bearable watching the nearly unbearable.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoA stinging and frightening indictment of mainland China.
- Li’s story is lean and economical, but deeply harrowing, as Xuemei--sympathetically played by debuting performer Huang Lu, the only classically trained actor in a cast of non-professionals--clings to her courage and tries again and again to escape.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe film's economical style, vivid cinematography and tremendous acting should attract audiences far and wide.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisBlind Mountain is a reminder that art sometimes keeps the truth alive far better than the news.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayBlind Mountain would be better-served by more touches of universality, as in the scene where a neighbor woman comforts Huang by saying, "All women go through this." That scene flirts with metaphor. The rest of the film too often descends into harangue.
- 50VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyLow on drama and originality, and high on deja vu, sophomore outing by writer-director Li Yang ("Blind Shaft," 2003).
- 40Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanBlind Mountain forces its way through numerous illogicalities and several plot lapses to a violently abrupt ending.
- 30Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallChicago ReaderAndrea GronvallThe movie not only indicts the country's embrace of capitalism by showing how low people will sink to make money, it also denigrates the agrarian class--once celebrated as heroic under Mao--by portraying its members as illiterate barbarians concerned only with continuing their family lines.