Critic Reviews

• Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

  It's a bit too convenient to credit Philibert's film with Proustian significance, but this particular remembrance has been constructed with similar profundity.

• Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

  Back to Normandy is never less than an extraordinary journey through time, memory and the repercussions of a baffling, bygone crime.

• Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York

  The testimony of Normandy's subjects is always fascinating; Philibert proves that not all directors should wade in the same river twice.

• Michelle Orange, Village Voice

  It is rather awesomely evident that when the cameras left, life -- and death -- simply went on.

• Geoff Andrew, Time Out

  Viewers should be won over by the director's warm humanity, puckish sense of humour and rich appetite for contingent associations.

• Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter

  Not so much an entertainment or even an illumination, but rather a personal cinematic scrapbook, which should be stamped 'return to sender.'

• Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine

  The doc becomes an ode to the film the cast collectively made and iterates what power and range a camera can have in front as well as behind the scenes.

• Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

  With Back to Normandy, a nostalgic travelogue with philosophical aspirations, director Nicolas Philibert not only returns to the scene of a crime but the scene of a movie shoot.

• Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

  Intriguing and occasionally moving film with a strong central idea and some engaging interviewees.

• Kevin Harley, Total Film

  Granted, Philibert's free-roaming approach is as languid as a weekend ramble. But his warm, tender, patient film finds much to move and chew on in the mulch and mire of rustic matters.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  A generous portrait of a community, past and present, reflecting on their unexpected contribution to the cinema.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  A sophisticated meditation on community, transgression and the law.

• Tom Dawson, Film4

  A leisurely and reflective film filled with warmth and respect for its subjects.

• Stella Papamichael, BBC

  Philibert lets the interviewees ramble and the fly-on-the-wall business feels totally random.

• Patrick Peters, Empire Magazine

  A typically detailed profile of people creating something remarkable together.

• Allan Hunter, Screen International

  A self-effacing figure, Philibert never imposes himself on the film, preferring to stress the communal experience of its creation and the very human stories that have emerged from his return journey.

Read all 16 critic reviews