Critics reviews

I enjoyed this Danish-Swedish coproduction as a contemporary update of the sort of story most associated with Honoré de Balzac—i.e., one that scrutinizes the workings of sex and power as a means of commenting on larger social structures.

The first-time director’s film is a restrained look at the desperation and alienation faced by immigrants like Esmail.

A sharply crafted drama that has elements of noirish suspense, the Danish-Swedish coproduction, which is distinguished by exceptionally fine performances by its three leading actors, offers an incisive, penetrating look at the psychological disorientation and dilemmas of people caught between cultures.

This is the writer and director Milad Alami’s first movie. His screenwriting keeps rippling outward, revealing new details about Esmail, so that time with him mirrors what it might be like to date and get to know him.