
Heading South
2005, Drama, 1h 47m
83 Reviews 1,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
As touching as it is disturbing, Heading South is an unconventional exploration of desire and longing, with superb performances and direction. Read critic reviews
You might also like
Heading South Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Ellen
Brenda
Sue
Legba
Albert
Director
News & Interviews for Heading South
Critic Reviews for Heading South
All Critics (83) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (25)
-
Heading South opens up a fascinating world of complexities, some of which are there on the screen although others open up only once the horizon line moves past the screen's edge.
November 30, 2006 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
Exploring female desire in a way films rarely do, Heading South is a film of sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt metaphors for the interaction of rich and pauperized countries.
September 23, 2006 | Rating: B- -
The film offers something unusual, a tragic spectacle of normal, recognizable and utterly sympathetic people condemning themselves.
September 1, 2006 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
An unsettling drama by the director of two other remarkable films about class illusions, Human Resources and Time Out.
August 25, 2006 | Rating: 3/4 -
The movie avoids devolving into polemic by treating its characters as individuals.
August 18, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/5 -
In its way, the film is a piercing indictment, though it makes its point without much screaming, hectoring or preening. It's quietly terrific.
August 17, 2006 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Heading South
-
Jan 12, 2009The film takes place in Haiti in the late 70's and is about three older single women visiting a beach resort to take advantage of the sun, sea, sand, and young Haitian men. I loved this film. It feels very French in its tasteful restraint. Actual sex is never shown, yet it is every bit as titilating as if it were. This movie asks questions you didn't want to think about and turns perceptions around. The sad revelations at the end of the film say a lot about human nature will keep the film in your mind.April N Super Reviewer
-
Jul 24, 2006[font=Century Gothic]"Heading South" takes place in Haiti in the late 1970's where Brenda(Karen Young), a 48 year-old woman, returns after a visit three years previously where she enjoyed a tryst with a Haitian boy, Legba(Mentothy Cesar), and enjoyed her first orgasm. She stays at the same hotel and meets him again but is unpleasantly surprised to find Ellen(Charlotte Rampling), a 55 year-old professor, holding court. Ellen has spent the previous six summers at the same hotel to pay for sex with the young Haitian men who hang out at the beach. And she is not the only one...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Heading South" is an ambiguous and matter-of-fact movie about the controversial subject of sex tourism. Had the American characters been men, then they would have been much less sympathetic. Here they are middle-aged women in the midst of the sexual revolution just before AIDS decimates Haiti. They are exploring their sexuality in a way that would have been impossible back home. They are balanced with the young Haitian men who engage with the women in an attempt to escape their desperate lives of poverty and repression under the brutal Duvalier regime.[/font]Walter M Super Reviewer
Heading South Quotes
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
Movie & TV guides
About Tomatometer
The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review
About Audience Score
The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher.
Verified