Critic Reviews

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  Director Daniel Sanchez Arévalo would have done well leaving a few subplots on the cutting-room floor. Quality almost always is better than quantity.

• Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

  Bifurcated images, isolating the characters from their dreams and from one another, create a yearning atmosphere that pulls you in; like their director, you really want them to escape.

• Nathan Lee, Village Voice

  Tells [a] ludicrously compact, aggressively 'heartfelt,' colorfully contrived story.

• Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

  What could have seemed insufferably self-pitying becomes strangely moving instead -- a sign of a filmmaker placing his absolute trust in their material and coming up all the stronger for it.

• Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter

  Writer/director Aravalo and a fine cast tell the story with great charm.

• Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

  The plotline's complexity is matched by the depth of the issues explored, with the cast uniformly coming up trumps.

• Beth Accomando, KPBS.org

  The actors form an appealing ensemble, bringing a warmth and appeal that make the film more compelling than its familiar themes might normally merit.

• Stan Hall, Oregonian

  The plot of Spanish director Daniel Sanchez Arevalo's well-acted feature debut is the kind that his countryman Pedro Almodovar would imbue with bold colors, acid humor and perhaps a headstrong transvestite.

• David Noh, Film Journal International

  Daniel Sanchez Arevalo makes an impressive feature debut with this thoughtful, mordantly funny, deeply human film.

• Jonathan W. Hickman, Entertainment Insiders

  A terrific debut from writer/director Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.

• Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

  It's a well-acted soap with one too many plot lines, tied together by genteel audio-visual sutures and supported by the brittle metaphor of its title.

• Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio

  This slice of quirky life story about a classy, unattainable suit in a store window, is one classy movie as well, ennobling its host of eccentric and tragic, yet determined and struggling, vividly realized characters.

• Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

  Engaging, bittersweet and frequently laugh out loud funny, this is an enjoyable Spanish drama with strong performances and a subtle but effective message.

• Martha Fischer, Cinematical

  There's an impressive, careful complexity to DarkBlueAlmostBlack that belies the inexperience of first-time director Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.

• Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net

  Sanchez Arevalo is a worthwhile addition to the growing ranks of providers of solid and entertaining stories taken from life, as seen through a melodramatic prism.

Read all 15 critic reviews