Facing Windows (2003) - Critic Reviews

Ozpetek moves things along at a snail's pace and lays the sentiment down thickly. But it's a potent tale, wonderfully acted by Mezzogiorno and Massimo Girotti as the old man.

60

Ken Fox TV Guide Magazine

Blends history and mystery into an entertaining, if somewhat slight, romance.

60

Los Angeles Times

Far from a simple, feel-good story of self-discovery, Facing Windows delivers a challenging examination of loneliness and human interaction.

60

Stephen Holden The New York Times

Despite its surreal touches and an improbable story that piles on the metaphors, the movie, which has a rich, honey-dripping score by Andrea Guerra, maintains a tone of refined heart-tugging realism.

50

James Berardinelli ReelViews

Probably best skipped - unless you have a penchant for shallow, "comfortable" foreign films that offer obvious messages and never attempt to challenge the viewer.

50

V.A. Musetto New York Post

Gets off to a worthy start, but falls apart about halfway through.

40

Deborah Young Variety

Only partially succeeds in interweaving questions of family loyalty with historical memory and the fate of Italian Jews in WW2.

40

Scott Foundas L.A. Weekly

Structurally, it's ambitious, but emotionally the movie never quite connects, spending so much time laboring over its parallel storytelling and its cosmic connections that the characters remain at arm's length, as intangible as reflections in glass.

30

Jessica Winter Village Voice

Blends past and present to draw some utterly stupefying parallels.