Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Careful’?

Careful (1993)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

audience

80

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 388

My Rating

Movie Info

Careful takes place in the remote Alpine village of Tolzbad, where everyone speaks in whispers for fear of starting an avalanche. This self-inflicted noise control to the overall suppression of emotions and impulses. Entering this rarefied atmosphere is aspiring butler Brent Neale. Remaining as silent as his companions, Neale bears witness to all sorts of muted aberrations, from incest to surreptitious suicide. Director Guy Maddin stages Careful in the manner of an early German Expressionistic

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Drama, Comedy, Special Interest

Guy Maddin, George Toles

Mar 24, 2009

Zeitgeist Films

Cast

All Critics (13) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (2) | DVD (6)

In part a hilarious satire about Canadian timidity, it also comes across periodically as a formalist gem about nothing at all.

May 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Careful is one long and amusing pun on German Expressionistic film imagery, Freudian psychology and quasi-Wagnerian storytelling, all carried to absurdist lengths.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's something wonderfully unique about the project but the reasons for doing it remain buried.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Careful, the hilariously bizarre new film from Canadian director Guy Maddin, is like some lost masterpiece from a time-warped alternative dimension -- a strange artifact that time forgot.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... an utterly demented melodrama tale of the repressed residents of a small alpine village who live in virtual silence...

December 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Parallax View | Comment
Parallax View

It's certainly an astounding film for its purely spectacular terms.

March 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

An acquired taste, Maddin is an unusually precise director who leaves little to chance. Whether one finds his approach too careful or just stunningly controlled will be up to individual cineastes.

May 8, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A weirdly amusing parable of sexual repression.

October 3, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Uniquely weird, subtly macabre, and utterly compelling.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Too strange for its own good, Careful is less interesting as a film than it is as a Canadian cinematic anomaly.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Austin Chronicle
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Careful

"Careful" is set in a mountain valley where the villagers are worried that the slightest sound could set off an avalanche, and are on guard constantly against any action no matter how small that can spell their doom. Living in such a place, brothers Johann(Brent Neale) and Grigorss(Kyle McCulloch) enter into training

March 6, 2010
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

The cinematography and art direction are superb. However, the action stays in a less than interesting middle ground that isn't quite comedy and never pushes hard enough to delve into a meaningful exploration of the Freudian issues it seems to be hinting at.

March 28, 2009
whosinthenews
Brett Warren

Super Reviewer

Careful Quotes

No quotes approved yet for Careful. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for Careful

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,598 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,510 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,198 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,691 taken
created 15 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • Cuidado (ES)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile