Critic Reviews

• Greg Quill, Toronto Star

  Patekar's ability to convey stoic forbearance with so little apparent effort, is one of the marvellous rewards of this intricately textured and compelling film.

• Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

  A miraculous, American-made Hindi film that is every bit as tranquil as the blue-green reservoir that serves as its abiding metaphor.

• Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

  Reality and fiction fuse like watercolors in this quietly compelling narrative feature.

• John Hartl, Seattle Times

  It's a movie about a time, a place and a situation that isn't going to change soon. [Director] Smith takes his time to establish the people, the landscape and the striking contrast between the lives of the very rich and the very poor.

• Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

  It's a bit schematic and sweet-natured, perhaps to a fault, yet the faces linger.

• Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

  By pushing himself far outside his Midwestern comfort zone and working with non-actors in a language he doesn't speak, Smith has created a fable with universal appeal.

• Alistair Harkness, Scotsman

  Though plot-wise nothing much happens, Smith elicits strong sense of place and teases out the film's themes ...

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  It's a subtle, truthful, moving story of class, ambition, friendship and romantic yearning, extremely well acted by a largely non-professional cast.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  [A] wholly unobjectionable, likeably performed but faintly soporific drama ...

• Rich Cline, Contactmusic.com

  Shot with a level of realism we rarely seen in Indian cinema, this film combines sharply engaging characters with an involving story that really gets under the skin. A

• Allan Hunter, Daily Express

  Told with real warmth and charm, this is a confidently handled tale boosted by natural, engaging performances from Venkatesh and Jahangir Badshah as his young friend.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  It tells you a lot about South India, its essentially rural culture and the stifling poverty of its underclass.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  Smith's film is natural and unforced, with a winning fluency and calm observational style.

• David Jenkins, Little White Lies

  Hopefully Smith will make more movies in this laid-back, poetic style.

• Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

  Here are filigree detailing, pure-and-simple performances (especially from Venkatesh Chavan as the boy) and a subtly lambent moral tale ...

• David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

  A fascinating narrative set in modern-day Indian and full of insights into a class-riven country.

• Hannah McGill, The List

  It tells a tale so sweetly elemental and classic that it could pretty much have happened along at any point in storytelling history.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  Satisfying tale of marginalized youth struggling to survive alone in a cold world and dreaming of success despite all odds against them.

• Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

  Shimmers silently. A quietly remarkable film, for its seeming simplicity, its careful rhythms, and its interest in a place and its spirit.

• Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

  The Pool is beautiful to look at, and, for what it conveys about human nature, to experience.

Read all 22 critic reviews