Besieged: Critic Reviews

A purposefully romantic exploration of the nonverbal connections between people that can blossom into love.

This is a deeply engrossing, often exquisite film by someone who knows visuals. It's sensory, sensual, handmade.

How can a director of such sophistication, in a film of such stylistic grace, tell such a shallow and evasive story?

I look forward to seeing it again, much as I would return to a favorite piece of music.

Bertolucci and co-writer Clare Peploe seem intent on deconstructing the story's interesting elements at every turn, substituting woolliness for clarity, atmospherics for real emotion and an often condescending, armchair-liberal naivete for real political

What an unexpected gift.

Given Bertolucci's impish leanings, the self-referential sequences may merely be gags. If so, they're among a half-dozen others that backfire.

The film is a moderately involving, oddly lighthearted look at the connection between love, obsession, and sacrifice that is somewhat marred by instances of overwrought acting and bad dialogue.

A film that combines a stunning sensuality with a rigorous economy.

Maddening on many fronts and strangely wordless, Bernardo Bertolucci's purported love story breaks no new ground.

I can't say that I was affected by it much at all.

Bertolucci conjures magic once again.

It's a film about the limits of art, about civilization at this moment of flux, and about a gentle connection between a man and a woman.

Visually creative filmmaking.

One of the most accessible films to come from Bertolucci and shows the filmmakers deep understanding of his craft.

Despite a vividly expressive performance by Newton, the lack of urgency equates to a lack of intimacy.

A thinking audience's romance.

An aesthetic treat for art film lovers. Everyone else should stay away.

A film full of hope, full of heart and full of simple rewards for the audience lucky enough to find it.

Bertolucci and co-writer Clare Peploe tell an intimate and painstaking tale that's complemented by exquisitely restrained acting.