Bless Me, Ultima 2013

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Reminiscent of Billy Bob Thornton's "All the Pretty Horses" or Lasse Hallstrom's "The Shipping News" - literary adaptations that got the look right, while lacking the easy flow of the original work. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Here's a coming-of-age movie that feels both generic and personal. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Lots of films (and lots of books) have charted a boy's path to manhood. Bless Me, Ultima is special because it's about this boy, in this time and place, where his peers and elders are rushing to label him before he can forge his own identity. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: The lyrical book is filled with touches of magical realism. On the other hand, the movie is sorely lacking in both magic and realism. It's all very empty and blah. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: A mostly gentle and tastefully photographed depiction of a young boy's coming of age in rural 1940s New Mexico. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Aassured, sensitive, and commendably unpretentious. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Franklin's eye is alert to both the landscape and his ensemble of performers. Call "Bless Me, Ultima" a mixed blessing. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Writer-director Carl Franklin offers up a tone of heightened reverence that weighs down the material, but there are small, lovely moments when the magic realism approaches the magical. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Theater firebrand and big-screen presence Miriam Colon portrays Ultima with a minimum of fuss and a gorgeous supply of elder authority. Read more

Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: An offbeat slice of Americana will intrigue thoughtful moviegoers. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A deeply satisfying feat of storytelling, "Bless Me, Ultima" makes a difficult task look easy. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Carl Franklin's film is true to the tone and spirit of the book. It is patient and in no hurry. It allows a balanced eye for the people in its hero's family who tug him one way and another. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Its very existence in a godforsaken marketplace is a minor miracle. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Bless Me, Ultima has its earnest heart - and setting - in the right place. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Nearly as sacred as the Good Book itself in some circles, Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima has survived the leap to the bigscreen with much of its magic intact, thanks to a respectful if somewhat wooden adaptation by writer-director Carl Franklin. Read more