Tangerines

"The Oscar nominees list for Best Foreign Language Film has always been an annual oasis filled with quality. Getting that deserved attention in 2015 is this compact drama set during the Georgian Civil War. There, humble Estonian tangerine harvester Ivo is forced to nurse and house two badly injured soldiers from either side of the conflict – a Chechen mercenary and a Georgian."

"Balances humor and seriousness in deft fashion, its delicacy abetted by all thesps and design contributions."

"Humanity is the theme of this Oscar nominated drama in which an old Estonian man opens his home and heart to two rival 'children of death'- a Chechen mercenary and a Georgian soldier... Hope is a wonderful thing"

"Urushadze's excellent cast imbues their thinly drawn characters with a great deal of life, but the roles are so transparent that the film feels like more of an advertisement for peace than it does an argument for it."

"The film, beautifully shot and cleanly edited, has the economy of a short story, unfolding in a mood of slightly sentimental masculine stoicism."

"Works primarily as a showcase for its trio of lead actors, who work hard to make their characters’ gradual yet quick thaw seem not just credible, but inevitable."

"An example of lean, unadorned old-school filmmaking where familiar style and technique combine to unexpectedly potent effect because of the great skill with which they've been employed."

"Eloquent anti-war film may not break new ground, but is deeply affecting."