70
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasThough shorn of 20 minutes for its U.S. debut, the film's wry comic portrait of the Japanese Occupation during WWII hasn't lost any of its incendiary brilliance, both as a political provocation and as a brusquely humane take on the horrors and absurdity of war.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIn its dry and forceful way, it delivers the same message as Jiri Menzel's "Closely Watched Trains" and Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land." While acknowledging that war is hell, it goes further to suggest it is ludicrous.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoA wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJiang's razor-sharp conclusions are less about the Japanese army or the Chinese government than about simple human nature.
- 50VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyHas all the classic faults of a picture not only directed by an actor but by an actor who is his own producer.
- 50Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimBy the final shot, which assumes the viewpoint of a decapitated head, its appalled comedy has swelled, beyond outrage, to a pitch of punch-drunk hysteria.