| 100 |
Entertainment Weekly
Without ever dipping into indignity among wet, half-naked men, Shower sparkles with joy.
|
| 100 |
Christian Science Monitor
Superbly acted, cleverly written, sensitively directed.
|
| 100 |
New York Post
Comes as close to perfect as any movie I've seen lately.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Tribune
The beauties of Shower lie in its human observation, in its funny interplay, candor, lusty acting and hearty simplicity - and also in its warm imagery and the fascinating symbolic use it makes of water.
|
| 88 |
San Francisco Examiner
A warm-hearted valentine to old traditions in China that are being obliterated by modern - and admittedly more efficient - technology.
|
| 88 |
New York Daily News
Intimate, deeply affecting family drama.
|
| 83 |
Portland Oregonian
A lovely film that requires a leisurely sit to think, Shower is not so much a shower as a bath, and a refreshing one at that.
|
| 83 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's a beautifully crafted, almost perfectly sustained little drama that skillfully makes a subtle, bittersweet point.
|
| 80 |
Rolling Stone
Yang turns this heartwarmer into a feat of delicate magic.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Writers Liu Fen Dou and Cai Xiang Jun and director Zhang Yang move freely and gracefully between fantasy and reality in this sentimental film, which never becomes as trite or calculated as you might fear.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Beguiling and poignant.
|
| 80 |
Dallas Observer
Zhang deftly and quickly draws a half-dozen supporting characters, and his pacing never flags.
|
| 78 |
Austin Chronicle
Above all, it's a satisfying, almost restful work, as welcome in this less-than-thrilling cinematic summer as a cool soak on a hot summer's day.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Told in a leisurely though concise 92 minutes, Shower is a purifying and refreshing spray of hope that family and lifestyle differences can be reconciled. Lovely.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
You won't see a more humane and delicately moving riff this year on the theme of getting clean.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Although it has some contrived plot devices (including the looming deadline of the city's threat to the bathhouse), it is warm and observant, and its ending is surprisingly true to the material.
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
Shower is also a comedy -- but it's the movie's melancholy streak that is its strongest asset.
|
| 75 |
Baltimore Sun
Shower makes for a lovely and poignant journey.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
Uplifting, witty.
|
| 70 |
Time
Take this Shower and feel refreshed; it's a cool dip on a hot day.
|
| 70 |
Film.com
There's something thin about the picture-both in its ideas and its visual texture.
|
| 60 |
LA Weekly
Pretty good going for a ton of moisture.
|
| 59 |
Mr. Showbiz
Shower isn't a bad movie -- just a baneful sign of things to come.
|
| 50 |
Village Voice
It's far too soggy a confection for my taste.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Sentiment, the kind bordering on schmaltz and easy tears, is found in Shower, a well-meaning generational drama.
|
| 40 |
TV Guide
This gentle, slow-moving film contains some charming sequences but no new insights into the pleasures and burdens of family.
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