Critic Reviews

• Marta Barber, Miami Herald

  This beautiful tale of two sisters living in Sarcelles, a low-income Parisian suburb of mostly new immigrants, presents the darker side of religion while offering a candid view of an Orthodox Jewish family struggling to stay together.

• Susan Walker, Toronto Star

  It is a story told in small moments, the camera close-up on a look, the stroke of a hand, the way a blonde thread is revealed in a husband's jacket.

• Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

  Anyone shopping by the ton for melodrama is well advised to browse the ample display on view in this cinematic square.

• Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

  Rich in perceptive details, Albou's film has drawn favorable comparison to the work of Claire Denis (The Intruder, Friday Night), and both directors share a sensual sensitivity to their characters' inner lives.

• Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

  The grand ideas are effectively integrated into a drama that relies equally upon the head, the heart and the body for inspiration.

• Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

  It's very well-acted and directed, shot with great vigor, mostly in roaming closeups that plunge us right into the thick of things.

• Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com

  The film, which means well in its attempt to touch on Kantian philosophy, racial divides, sex and orthodoxy, and secularism versus religion, manages to insult each one of these heavy subjects by not giving any of them the serious, thoughtful attention the

• Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

  The background of Little Jerusalem is a grimy landscape, both physical and political, and it overwhelms the fragile exploration undertaken by the sisters. Or maybe that's the whole point.

• Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly

  [If the film] is a story of escape and liberation, it also shows a calibrated respect for tradition and the ancient pull of family loyalty.

• Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals

  Albou is adventurous in intermixing a young woman's coming-of-age with a search for secular belief but her story is a bit shy on drama.

• Laura Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  Even though the romance angle disappoints, the story still holds interest because of the jarring cultural differences, even between the Paris-reared daughters and their superstitious Tunisian mother.

• Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International

  The best reason to watch La Petite Jerusalem is Fanny Valette, a bona-fide beauty who brings a commitment and gravity to scenes that don't always deserve them.

• Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide

  Beautifully played by Valette and Zylberstein, and directed with amazing grace by Albou, this touching film offers a respectful, fascinating look at a community that's ignored as often as it's misunderstood.

Read all 13 critic reviews