The one joy in the lives of a mother and daughter comes from the regular letters sent to them from Paris from the family's adored son, Otar. When the daughter finds out that Otar has died suddenly, she tries to conceal the truth from her mother, changing the course of their lives forever.
Otar and Lenin make terrific bookends on the post-communist experience for average citizens.
– Michael Booth,
Denver Post,
6 Aug 2004
fresh:
It is a film that understands women, but more importantly, understands life.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
6 Aug 2004
fresh:
This emotionally rich situation is played for all its worth by the entire cast, but the standout is Gorintin.
– Eleanor Ringel Gillespie,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
19 Aug 2004
fresh:
The finely crafted film shows the complex needs and anxieties of a three-generation family living in a country that has undergone dramatic political and cultural changes.
– Marta Barber,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug 2004
fresh:
Bertuccelli tackles Since Otar Left... with the kind of ambitious imagination that makes one marvel at a natural filmmaker's unexpected and original choices.