58
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoDirected and co-written by Thierry Binisti, a TV veteran, the film boasts solid acting (especially from red-haired Bonitzer) and handsome cinematography.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisFueled by neither anger nor religious extremism - the director, Thierry Binisti, remains rigidly nonpartisan - "Bottle" is a gentle pairing of youthful idealism and tenacious hope.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearThe film's notion that a little understanding and a lot of e-mailing would basically solve the Middle East crisis, however, is as reductive as it is utopian.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThere are no villains here, no attempts to sway opinions or even stake out political ground. Some will find that a disappointment. But the truth is that this effort is both more evenhanded than most dramas with similar themes, and more open-hearted.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckUltimately A Bottle in the Gaza Sea adds little insight into a conflict that has already inspired several powerful dramas, such as the recent "The Other Son," and is sadly likely to be the subject of many more.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineThe film obviously can't resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel, but the resolution to the story's arc feels nonetheless forced and misplaced.
- The initially cynical Naim suggests Tal's project is insignificant, nothing but a bottle of hope bobbing about in a sea of enmity – and so too this film.
- 50Village VoiceJon FroschVillage VoiceJon FroschAlthough smoothly directed, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea has little visual personality or dramatic urgency. What might have been a tough and adult take on a bond full of hope but thwarted by war plays more like an after-school special.