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THE SONG OF SPARROWS (AVAZE GONJESHK-HA)Movie Reviews
Iranian drama about a farmer unfairly blamed at work for losing an ostrich, who becomes obsessed with collecting useless rubbish to the point of neglecting his wife and daughter. Cast:Reza Naji, Maryam Akbari, Kamran Dehghan, Hamed Aghazi, Shabnam AklaghiDirector:Majid MajidiRelease Date:April 3, 2009DVD Release:February 9, 2010From:Regent ReleasingRating:PGLength:1 hr. 36 min.
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha), Excellent Reviews Key Cities
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Majidi's tale wasn't meant to be timely, of course, but the shoe fits, and the film wears it well." • And Bill Stamets wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times, "Director Majid Majidi is a sentimental humanist with a lovely eye for epiphanies." More Reviews Below...
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) Positive Reviews (18 Reviews, reviews below)
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a sweet and uplifting humanistic fable that celebrates the joys of community and pastoral life over a harried and materialistic urban existence."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 309 words, 04/17/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (6 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...dogmatic... has the force of conviction. And the scenes of rural life -- especially an overhead shot of Karim carrying a blue door through a field -- are quite beautiful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 04/03/09
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Director Majid Majidi is a sentimental humanist with a lovely eye for epiphanies. Iranian master tar and setar player Hossein Alizadeh composes a lilting score..."(See all of Bill Stamets's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 10/09/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the fourth collaboration for Reza Naji and Majid Majidi, and the actor and director feed off each other creatively, pushing the boundaries of the characters each time."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 04/10/09
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "How you gonna keep them down on the ostrich farm after they've seen Tehran?... Majidi is a master director of tear-jerkers, and he proves true to form with 'Sparrows.' "(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 194 words, 04/03/09
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "There's an element of silent comedy not just in the mild humor or Karim's tapir-nosed grimaces, but in the simple (not simplistic) sentiment of the scenarios..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 221 words, 04/01/09
KEY CITIES (6 Reviews)
Dan Zak, Washington Post: EXCELLENT(cg) "At times tedious but ultimately beguiling... morphs from a sly dramedy about running a household into a fable about two ways of life (urban and rural) that can't coexist."(See all of Dan Zak's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 06/12/09
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a kind of cinematic fable. At times funny, sad, poignant and suspenseful, 'Sparrows' is a showcase for Majid Majidi's masterful storytelling..."(See all of Jonathan Curiel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 444 words, 06/12/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Majidi's films have the serenity, balance, and poetic allegory of those Renaissance fresco cycles called the Bible of the poor for their way of communicating..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 423 words, 05/15/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a delicate story... The images have a poetic grace that's to be desired in storytelling. You feel Majidi's hand much more than you do God's."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 05/29/09
Stan Hall, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The lessons are unsubtle and the pace drags near the end, but Naji is wonderfully expressive, the production design is top-notch and the Iranian countryside is gorgeous."(See all of Stan Hall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 08/07/09
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "There's an element of silent comedy not just in the mild humor or Karim's tapir-nosed grimaces, but in the simple (not simplistic) sentiment of the scenarios..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 221 words, 04/01/09
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...dogmatic... has the force of conviction. And the scenes of rural life -- especially an overhead shot of Karim carrying a blue door through a field -- are quite beautiful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 04/03/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a parable of corruption, catastrophe and eventual redemption. Mr. Majidi's tale wasn't meant to be timely, of course, but the shoe fits, and the film wears it well."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 04/03/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the fourth collaboration for Reza Naji and Majid Majidi, and the actor and director feed off each other creatively, pushing the boundaries of the characters each time."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 04/10/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the fourth collaboration for Reza Naji and Majid Majidi, and the actor and director feed off each other creatively, pushing the boundaries of the characters each time."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 04/10/09
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...dogmatic... has the force of conviction. And the scenes of rural life -- especially an overhead shot of Karim carrying a blue door through a field -- are quite beautiful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 04/03/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a parable of corruption, catastrophe and eventual redemption. Mr. Majidi's tale wasn't meant to be timely, of course, but the shoe fits, and the film wears it well."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 04/03/09
10.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha)'s reviews are separated by an average 10.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) (18 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha)'s reviews cover 24.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 6,547 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 364 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) Coverage, Volume & Length (18 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 33 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha)'s reviews on average broke 33 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) (18 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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