Resnais has always been an expressionist, using his settings and compositions to evoke the inner states of his characters. Here, tying expressionism to social critique, he becomes an improbable but unmistakable blood brother of Carl Dreyer.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
8 Jun 2007
fresh:
Resnais shapes affecting performances from a polished cast. He creates a warm, comic melancholy.
– Bill Stamets,
Chicago Sun-Times,
8 Jun 2007
rotten:
Private Fears suffers from [director Alain] Resnais' inability to open it up and give it the look and pulse of a film.
– Ruthe Stein,
San Francisco Chronicle,
15 Jun 2007
fresh:
The tenderness with which Resnais observes their efforts makes for genuinely enchanting entertainment.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
23 Jun 2007
fresh:
What reaches us, most of all, are the hidden, unmet longings that keep the film's Parisian characters from finding true happiness.