68
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderKari combines Kaurismaki's deadpan minimalism and Truffaut's sensitivity toward adolescent yearning with a hefty dose of gallows humor, and tops it all off with an apocalyptic ending.
- 80Film ThreatRich ClineFilm ThreatRich ClinePerformances are spot-on from the entire cast; each memorable character is finely detailed and full of eccentricities that are beautifully underplayed.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanPaced a bit too glacially for my taste, yet it's worth sitting through for its trick ending, a twist of events as ominous as the landscape.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittQuirky, heartfelt acting makes this a superior entry in the perennial teenage-misfit genre.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoKari successfully meshes comedy, ennui and tragedy, much in the manner of Jim Jarmusch and Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenA playfully quirky and, ultimately, unexpectedly affecting portrait of a 17-year-old slacker.
- 70VarietyDeborah YoungVarietyDeborah YoungAn inspired mix of realism, humor and metaphor.
- 70Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimA lightly comic slacker drama that takes the desperation of teenage tedium seriously.
- 63New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe laconic Lemarquis does a solid job carrying off Kári's dryly mordant wit, making this eccentric story well worth watching.
- 50The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensAfter a while the movie spins its wheels, unable to find much emotional traction in the icy bleakness.