Critic Reviews

• Ty Burr, Boston Globe

  Part detective story, part coming of political age saga, and all teenage identity crisis.

• Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times

  If Biraben had devoted more energy to the human contours of his story, its metaphorical implications would have sorted themselves out.

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  The Argentine thriller Cautiva features a solid performance by 23-year-old Barbara Lombardo that goes a long way in making up for the telenovela script.

• Jan Stuart, Newsday

  The debut feature of Gastón Biraben, Cautiva is most potent in its first hour, as it bears witness to the disorientation and distrust experienced by a young girl whose life is suddenly turned upside down.

• Jordan Harper, Village Voice

  This intriguing debut by Argentinean writer-director Gaston Biraben sets up a lot of tough choices before finally taking the easy way out.

• A.O. Scott, New York Times

  This powerful film in the New Directors/New Films Series about a girl's alienation is also an attempt to grapple with the horrors of Argentina's recent history.

• Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews

  An almost Kafkaesque story of the daughter of two "disappeared" parents in Argentina discovering her true identity. Similar to "The Official Story" but with a key difference. The daughter is a teenager rather than a 5 year old and hence more vulnerable to

• Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News

  At every step, Cautiva is a noble, thoughtful effort. Too bad it's so often a dull one.

• Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly

  Neither Biraben's script nor his direction leave room for doubt as to how he feels about the nightmarish past, but he's smart enough to know that even justified outrage sometimes has to be tempered with the complexities of human intentions and realities.

• Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

  Another mediocre Argentinean film to ride into town on a wave of inexplicable critical approval.

• Rich Cline, Film Threat

  Sporadically artful yet stupefyingly dull -- there are some segments that are so beautiful and monotonous that they very nearly hypnotise us...into a coma.

• Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

  A finely wrought coming-of-age drama that crackles with political tension...

• Jonathan W. Hickman, Entertainment Insiders

  Cautiva makes us question the things we take for granted.

Read all 13 critic reviews