These are all very surreal, inventive ideas, heightened by the dreamlike cinematography from Barthes' partner, Andrij Parekh; the scenes shot in St. Petersburg, for example, are simultaneously gauzy and bleak.
Comment
09/18/09
Cold Souls (2009)
81
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:22
Rotten:5
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Straddling existential drama and surrealist comedy, Sophie Barthes debut feature is beautifully shot and full of inventive quandaries.
Theatrical Release:Aug 7, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $700,980
Synopsis: In response to shiny, bigger, better American consumerism comes COLD SOULS, first-time feature director Sophie Barthes' surreal comedy in which souls can be extracted and traded as commodities.... [More]
Starring: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun, Katheryn Winnick
Director: Sophie Barthes
Reviews for Cold Souls
Top CriticGiamatti stammers and futzes and self-loathes with the best of 'em, and his endearing persona and droopy-dog face can move the film along even when the narrative can't.
09/04/09
Top CriticPeppered with ingenious twists of imagination, Cold Souls walks a tightrope between intellectual slapstick and edgy social commentary.
08/27/09
Top CriticThese pitch-perfect moments, as well as Giamatti's performance as an artist driven to a personal and creative brink, make Cold Souls, if not always coherent, at least compelling.
08/21/09
Top CriticA clever existential comedy.
08/20/09
Top CriticA dark indie comedy that's distinguished by a sci-fi theme and surrealistic touches but ends without a payoff.
08/20/09
Top Critic[Director] Barthes takes her notion and runs with it, and Giamatti and Strathairn follow fearlessly. The movie is rather evocative about the way we govern ourselves from the inside out.
08/20/09
Top CriticIt's a simple query, and a fun one to explore, yet only a temporarily compelling conflict for a feature-length film.
08/14/09
Top CriticThe movie turns what could have been a tedious meta-movie exercise into a sincere dour farce.
08/13/09
Top CriticFor those who like comedies that derive humor through absurd situations and dialogue rather than through more lowbrow methods, this film is worth taking a chance on.
08/12/09
Top CriticI found myself thinking about this movie for a long time after I got out of the theater.
08/10/09
Top CriticA terrific premise, but I’m not so sure about the execution.
08/10/09
Top CriticYou wear a smile right through the surrealist spoof Cold Souls, but leave the theatre feeling somehow under-entertained.
08/07/09
Top CriticGiamatti is one of the few guys who could take a joke about a chickpea-sized soul and make a meal of it.
08/07/09
Top CriticFor all its quirks and laughs, there's something in this film you haven't seen in many others during this long summer. A soul.
08/07/09
Top CriticThis quaintly goofy premise makes for pointedly neurotic Sleeper-ish fun, not to mention nifty digs at our culture of self-reinvention.
08/07/09
Top CriticCold Souls works precisely because its ambitions are somewhat mellow; this isn't a relentlessly high-strung picture.
08/07/09
Top CriticA sombre slice of surrealism, Cold Souls is a welcome opportunity for America's most agony-prone actor to do what he does best: suffer.
08/07/09
Top CriticAn ambitious, elegantly shot, tonally cool first feature written and directed by Sophie Barthes.
08/07/09
Top CriticThe film is superbly shot by Andrij Parekh and edited by Andrew Mondshein, but it's the hilarious and heartbreaking Giamatti who provides it with, well, soul.
08/06/09
Top CriticLatest News for Cold Souls
November 22, 2009:
Win Double Passes to Cold Souls
In the tradition of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen comes writer-director Sophie Bathes' debut Cold Souls an existential comedy about an actor (Paul Giamatti, playing himself)... More...
August 06, 2009:
Critics Consensus: It's Quiet For G.I. Joe. Too Quiet.
This week at the movies, we got real American heroes (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, starring Dennis Quaid and Sienna Miller); kitchen chronicles (Julie & Julia, starring Meryl... More...
June 21, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds