75
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83HitfixGregory EllwoodHitfixGregory EllwoodThe characters are so well drawn (and the relatively young cast steps up to the plate) that combined with the material’s natural tension you’ll find yourself riveted to the proceedings.
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerIt’s clear from the way writer-director Martin Zandvliet sets up the story that the fiery Rasmussen, who denies the boys adequate rations and pens them indoors at night, will eventually soften. It’s to the film’s credit that he does so in ways that are eminently believable.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe film works as a moving anti-war essay and as a gripping thriller.
- 80VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyZandvliet’s script and direction avoid milking an innately loaded situation for excess melodrama or pathos, sticking to a discreet economy of approach that accumulates considerable power.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranCrisply and efficiently put together by writer-director Zandvliet, Land of Mine has the inherent edge-of-your-seat concern about what kind of damage the bombs will inflict on which of these boys, but it is the psychological qualities of the situation that hold the greatest interest.
- 80The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneAgain and again, its stark and suspenseful compositions strike the eye — figures in dark clothing, prone on a pale beach, with lines of wire, black warning flags, and the chill gray waves beyond.
- 80Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAn act of expiation, Land of Mine is honorable, harrowing and stirring.
- 75The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe cheesiest thing about it is the punny English-language title with which it’s been saddled. Otherwise, Land Of Mine is tough and admirably grim, turning a harrowing history lesson into a study in how the battles of wartime don’t always cease with the ceasefire.
- 70Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyScreen DailyDavid D'ArcyDespite the sense of fatalism and some clumsy turns in Zandvliet’s script, Land Of Mine achieves moments of chilling suspense.
- 60Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlThe film is sometimes too sentimental, too predictable in its drift, but electric in individual moments.