Critic Reviews

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  The mood is as dismal as the weather in Import/Export, by Austrian auteur Ulrich Seidl.

• Manohla Dargis, New York Times

  Ulrich Seidl's Import Export is an unflinching, at times almost unbearably hard yet moral look at human exploitation.

• Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

  Import Export demands we contemplate the horror and the beauty of existence in equal measure.

• Scott Foundas, Village Voice

  Seidl's film arguably offers the toughest (and toughest to stomach) portrait of individuals tempest-tossed by the currents of the new global economy.

• Dave Calhoun, Time Out

  Seidl's canny mix of professional and non-professional actors delivers a series of performances, major and minor, of genuinely heart-tugging truth and heartening humanity.

• Russell Edwards, Variety

  Miserable but masterful.

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

  Import Export adds the welcome element of humanity to stand between the cruelty and humor.

• Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

  There is never a moment telegraphed in the story...keeping me interested and attentive throughout its 2 hour runtime.

• Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

  Eastern work ethic vs. the softer West. It is clear who Seidl sides with.

• Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine

  Technically, the sedate yet stunning 35mm camera is there for the ride and somehow never imposes or dominates the content. And the result is a true triumph.

• Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

  Occasionally drags, but offers a relentlessly stark glimpse into the morbid, tragic life of two lost souls who haven't found happiness or prosperity.

• Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

  blunt and brutal

• Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine

  The titular backslash of Import/Export turns out to be a vast geographical schism, crossed only intermittently by thin strands of mutual emotional anguish.

• Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

  Sometimes a bit hard to stomach, but has such vividly realistic characters and situations that it can't be ignored.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  Seidl is a special talent, reared on documentary and determined to get near the truth with a placidly baleful eye. You are at liberty to hate or admire his work - but you can scarcely ignore it.

• Andy Gill, Independent

  At times it feels like a continuation of Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4-ever in its catalogue of injustices and humiliations, yet, against the odds, it rewards your endurance.

• Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

  The Austrian miserablist who gave us Dog Days - sharper and more mischievous in its portrait of exurbia's human excreta - delivers an essay in symmetrical despondence that seems both tidy and empty, like a trash can after street-cleaning.

• , Sun Online

  It came highly recommended by The Sneak's sources, but it is much too bleak, way too long and contains far too many graphic and soulless sex scenes.

• Sam Wigley, Total Film

  Yet his unerring eye for the absurdity of human behaviour and the rituals we invent for ourselves makes this a blackly humorous treat.

• Elliott Noble, Sky Movies

  Veracity and mordant humour are all well and good, but Seidl treads a very fine line between making jokes about being sick and making sick jokes.

Read all 21 critic reviews