Kukushka 2002

Critics score:
87 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: [A] charmingly slender fable about love, language, sex, and enmity -- and saunas. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: A well-acted, mildly arresting antiwar allegory. Read more

Marta Barber, Miami Herald: A mystical fairy tale by Alexander Rogozhkin as beautiful as it is tender. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: It's an unabashed pacifist movie that really works, emotionally and dramatically. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Times: Mr. Rogozhkin maintains a good sense of blood, dirt and sweat, human elements mingled together to keep the action rooted in some degree of reality. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: A disarming, appealingly modest discovery, beautifully shot, nicely performed. Read more

Houston Chronicle: Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: A winning piece of folk art from an isolated way of life, worth a look for those who want to see the world in all its quirky and earthy forms. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A stirring action movie -- in the international manner of The Fast Runner or No Man's Land rather than T3. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Writer/director Alexander Rogozhkin has a way of lapsing into cuteness when the story calls for something more challenging, but The Cuckoo eventually finds its own kind of light, ridiculous tone that generally doesn't talk down to the characters. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: The movie is informed by a rather gaga and, given the historical context, intellectually lazy pacifism, but Rogozhkin's painterly visual flair and his conciliatory humanism ultimately beguile and console. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Tender, often a bit confusing in its history, but a powerful statement about war as a massive misunderstanding. Read more

Bob Campbell, Newark Star-Ledger: This movie is tagged, gift-wrapped and handed to its Finnish Sami actress. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: It has serious themes, long, wordless scenes and poetic symbolism, but all that complexity leads to a surprisingly simplistic conclusion. Read more

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle: Beautifully acted, a pleasure to watch. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Humanistic without being preachy or blinded by optimism about human nature. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A beautifully shot, modest little fable about the misunderstandings between people. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Rogozhin's finely observed character studies and his cast's capable acting ... make The Cuckoo a thoughtful film more about love than war. Read more

Time Out: Read more

David Ng, Village Voice: [A] well-intentioned but sugarcoated anti-war allegory. Read more