Cannes. The Seven Days.

"The searing intensity of To Take a Wife turns into overly diffused heat in Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz's follow-up family drama The Seven Days," writes Variety's Jay Weissberg.

"Revisiting the unhappy couple from the first extraordinary feature, the sibling helmers expand the characters and open a Pandora's Box of festering resentment and jealousies, creating so many highs and lows that the dramatic arc becomes a repetitive series of peaks and valleys."

"In what is once again a claustrophobic chamber piece, the camera is symbolically drawn back to show not only the tensions between Viviane and Eliahu, but the intricate fabric of an entire family squeezed together for a whole week, bristling under the pressure of traditions that have to be observed and nursing old resentments that have never been aired," writes Screen Daily. "This is an ambitious undertaking, dealing with so many characters and perhaps too many crises, and the plot is ultimately too thin, lacking the forceful, concentrated impact of To Take A Wife."

"Intensely observed, smartly choreographed and very well acted by a large ensemble cast, the film, which opened the Critics' Week sidebar at the Festival de Cannes, will attract attention at festivals and art houses but its lack of humor may test audiences' patience," writes Ray Bennett in the Hollywood Reporter.

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Coverage of the coverage: Cannes 08.

Last year: Cannes @ 60. And Cannes 06.

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Posted by dwhudson at May 19, 2008 8:19 AM