Critic Reviews

• John Hartl, Seattle Times

  Brown's spunky, funny Kate helps hold the piece together.

• Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

  There's so much Altmanesque activity in the film that even if some storylines temporarily don't work, others keep making up for them.

• Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

  No matter how heavy-handed the sentimentality gets, the film's intentions seem sincere.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  A post-apartheid film in which the characters are less concerned with politics than with matters of the heart.

• Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

  The stories are interlinked effectively, and the film strikes an upbeat note yet does not address racism and discrimination. For all its affection toward its characters, however, the film is too long and too slack.

• Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

  The film's strengths are offset by flaws including an excessiveness cutesiness (there are far too many shots of adorable puppies), a tendency toward sentimental cliches and too many jarring shifts in tone.

• Kam Williams, Mount Desert Islander

  A socially-relevant and meaningful film from South Africa which supplies plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about humanity's prospects.

• Kam Williams, EURWeb

  A socially-relevant and meaningful film from South Africa which supplies plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about humanity's prospects.

• Maria Garcia, Film Journal International

  Mostly manages to feel authentic and uplifting, putting a human face on a complex colonial culture.

• David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com

  Cape of Good Hope is a film about people we want so very much to love, people who keep us watching - and keep us smiling.

• Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

  ... there's a temptation to call Cape a South African Crash, but it lacks both complexity and compromised characters.

• Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press

  Around the margins of the story are characters whose behavior is unique.

• Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle

  Despite its shortcomings, Cape of Good Hope is a hopeful piece of humanism that is difficult to begrudge too much.

• , E! Online

  With its warm heart and charming characters, Good Hope is a good choice.

• Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly

  Grounded in the easy rhythms of daily life, this charming little film shows unexpected grit.

• Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com

  A South African movie that departs from the political strife of Apartheid - there are still issues of race and class, but they're approached in a more roundabout, accessible way that isn't so in your face.

Read all 16 critic reviews