81
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThis is a brilliant, if challenging, film.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirIf a movie can be stark and rapturous at the same time, this is that movie.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterIt's a splendid microcosm of contemporary China's aspirations and shortcomings.
- 80Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimOn a first viewing, the movie seemed a dilution of the formal strategies Jia had perfected-at once less dispassionate and less empathetic. After a repeat viewing, it still strikes me as Jia's fourth-best film (that it's one of the year's best says plenty about the level at which he's working), but it's more apparent that The Worl d's muffled emotional impact should be understood as a function of its setting.
- 70VarietyDavid RooneyVarietyDavid RooneyWhile the film feels overlong at two hours 20 minutes, there's a seductive stillness to its enveloping mood.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisLoosely constructed, The World drifts along pleasantly for much of its two-and-a-half-hour running time. Mr. Jia has a terrific eye and an almost sculptural sense of film space (especially in close quarters), and he brings texture and density to even the most nondescript rooms.
- 63New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoJia's message is that globalization has failed to help the Chinese masses. We hear you, dude, but did you really need 143 minutes to get your point across?
- 50The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe World's dull weave of frustrated romances and worker exploitation is far too obvious, and Jia can only relieve the tedium so many times.
- 50New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsThe World has a pokey pace, but it presents a uniquely powerful look at the new big kid in the global economy.