Alpeis 2011

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Oblique connections are the threads that hold this film together, as Mr. Lanthimos moves from one somber, deliberate scene to the next. Read more

Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times: Lanthimos continually keeps you guessing about both the procedural and emotional logic at work in "Alps," and his actors are with him every step of the way. Read more

Alison Willmore, AV Club: There's no sense of how this service ever works, and only a scant indication of the miseries from which Papoulia is trying to escape by assuming a new identity. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Feels like a pale shadow of its predecessor. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: An hour and a half of darkening absurdism. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The movie contains some of the same elements that made [Dogtooth] so startling but they tend to float around rather than coalesce into a singular perspective. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: The film takes some deciphering, but once a viewer cracks its code "Alps" opens up into something expansive and rich. Read more

Joel Arnold, NPR: An impressively taut absurdist drama that's deliberate in its exploration of the value and limits of compassion. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: The movie focuses tightly and obviously on role playing, but the most unsettling observations concern how fragile it all is - our health, our minds, our denial of death. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A film peculiar beyond all understanding, based on a premise that begs belief. Read more

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: A strange story. A strange world. And strange characters doing even stranger things. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Lanthimos' film, with its emphasis on death deferred, holds the chilly fascination of a gaping skull. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: It simply demands to be stared at, in awe or incomprehension. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: The reality it takes place in is heightened just enough to make the concept feel ironic, but then all attempt at genuine sentiment subsequently falls flat. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Puzzling and provocative, Alps has a lingering power and an effect that is thrillingly difficult to define. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: ALPS is a real mind trip with strong acting, and it leaves you to wonder what Lanthimos and Filippou will do next. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: The cumulative force of the screenplay and Yorgos Mavropsaridis' editing is not as hypnotic as in Dogtooth, perhaps in part because those familiar with Lanthimos' m.o. will know what to expect. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: A comedy of pained laughter, Alps confirms the certitude of our darkest hours: The dead are the lucky ones. Read more