Critic Reviews

• David Jenkins, Time Out

  Its rambling structure, peppered with lyrical, magical-realist asides, may not be to all tastes, but there's a sense that Gondry wants this to be more than an eccentric personal portrait...

• Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

  Brimming with affection and beautifully shot, but it builds a flimsy case for why it matters.

• David Edelstein, New York Magazine

  This is an extraordinary film.

• Mike Hale, New York Times

  As Mr. Gondry unfolds the story of her life, and of her inability to connect with the son she sees as weak, you can understand why it would consume a familyâ(TM)s interest, but youâ(TM)re not sure why he thought it would pique ours.

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  The film is well-constructed, as one would expect from Gondry, but it offers little reason for anyone outside the family circle to care about dear old Tante Suzette.

• Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

  You can see that he meant it to be a toasty slice of nostalgia - and for Gondry, it surely is. For us, The Thorn in the Heart is more like a home movie of a family reunion we weren't invited to.

• Mike Edwards, What Culture

  This is an interesting vignette. Even if nostalgia and flights of fancy cause Gondry to lose focus.

• Alistair Harkness, Scotsman

  Captures the complexities at the heart of any family, with great generosity of spirit.

• Tom Eagar, Little White Lies

  The exploration of the complicated relationship between mother and son provides the most compelling, emotionally grounded moments within the film.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  Even as a fan, I found it very self-indulgent.

• Philip Wilding, Empire Magazine

  A touching insight into a family's inner workings.

• Jeffrey Chen, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

  We can recognize the portrait for its intimacy and appreciation of the challenges of a life lived, but it doesn't have any other real pull.

• Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

  (Gondry's) playfulness keeps the film buoyant even as it delves into the thickets of emotional complications of family lives.

• Stan Hall, Oregonian

  Gondry's masterful technique and subtle genre-tweaking almost make one forget that there isn't much drama to the story...

• Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

  Anyone can make a crappy home movie, but it takes an especially self-important one to think anyone other than their own family wants to watch it.

• Annlee Ellingson, Moving Pictures Magazine

  Thorn is Gondry's most personal film, so personal as to be indulgent. But what emerges is his sincere affection for his aunt and a moving emotional experience.

• Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

  Stylishly filmed, [but] too slight, lazy and not nearly as moving or insightful as it could have been with more piercing and provocative interviews.

• Jennifer Merin, About.com

  Like a guest invited to a family reunion, you feel a bit uncomfortable, question why you're there and wonder how long the event will last.

• Pam Grady, Boxoffice Magazine

  The movie rarely flags, but it is hard to get past the notion that what is onscreen is nothing more than an artfully made home movie and that the Gondry family saga is no more interesting than that of the average loving, if somewhat dysfunctional family.

• Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International

  So-so documentary about filmmaker Michel Gondry's gregarious elderly aunt and her reminiscences of family and long years teaching kids in rural France. Clearly a joy for nephew Gondry and his aunt, but maybe this should have been kept en famille.

Read all 21 critic reviews