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Old Joy (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:82
Fresh:69
Rotten:13
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: A serene, melancholy beauty permeates this meditative portrait of deep friendship and faded glory.
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Reviews for Old Joy
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 79/100 |
With exquisite tenderness and delicacy, Old Joy fluidly captures the all-too-frequent occurrence of friends drifting apart as their lives branch off in different directions. Full Review |
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 D |
Annoying, blank, and bereft of any narrative arc "Old Joy" has nothing familiar or enchanting to recommend it. Full Review |
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A |
The film is like a haiku that one can only interpret through their own experience. Full Review |
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A subtle, elegant meditation on friendship and identity in a cultural moment where honest cultivation of either is treated like a luxury. Full Review |
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C- |
A minimalist stroll not worth taking...but if Old Joy doesn't do much, at least it doesn't do it for very long. Full Review |
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B |
Old Joy may be built around a road trip, but it's also a movie about two roads -- and two souls -- diverging. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
Reichardt’s low-budget feature, shot in one weekend with a skeleton crew, quietly observes both men and passes judgment on neither. It’s a minimalist masterpiece. Full Review |
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B |
You may find yourself asking whether anything's going to happen. But for those who can tolerate a slow-brewing movie, [director] Reichardt's work provides sufficient rewards. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Subdued, artistic, with beautifully nuanced performances that are as true as they are often elusive of commercial triumph. Full Review |
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4/4 |
There are whispers of bigger themes present -- the changing nature of friendship, the co-opting of '90s "alternative" culture into the mainstream -- but, for the most part, much of what you get out of the film depends what you bring to it. Full Review |
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
Some movies say a lot by saying little; Old Joy seems content to just stay quiet. Full Review |
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A minimalist piece to be savoured like a good short story. Full Review |
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Like a Raymond Carver story, it seems nothing much at first sight, but its crystallised moment reveals further dimensions the more you muse on it. Full Review |
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4/5 |
A surprising denouement provides poignancy, repaying the goodwill the film inspires through its mellow combinations of music and imagery. Full Review |
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3/5 |
You would be perfectly at liberty to find it boring and empty, but also to understand the tiny resonances that have made it one of the best reviewed films of 2006 in America. Somehow it does strike home. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Too slight to really haunt, but its subtlety is as treasurable as an old friend. Full Review |
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3/5 |
A spare and satisfying experience. Full Review |
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4/5 |
An unassuming, minimalist gem that shows how less can be much, much more. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Old Joy
September 21, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Jackass" Kicks; "King" Is Dethroned; "Fearless" Is Action-Packed; "Flyboys" Is Grounded
This week at the movies, we've got antisocial behavior ("Jackass: Number Two," with Johnny Knoxville and the gang), hell-raising politicos ("All The King's... More...
August 24, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Invincible," "Worms" Score; "Idlewild," "Beerfest" Mixed
This week at the movies, we've got four underdog stories. An average Joe tries to play pro football ("Invincible," starring Mark Wahlberg), the new kid in school tries... More...
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