52
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirThe thing is, it works. Or at least it works for me. I left the theater convinced that House of Fools is Konchalovsky's best work in almost 20 years (which it is) and that it might be something close to a masterpiece.
- 80L.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonL.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonPowerful war satire.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe masterstroke is the use of Bryan Adams, who seems like a joke when he first appears (the movie knows this), but is used by Konchalovsky in such a way that eventually be becomes the embodiment of the ability to imagine and dream--an ability, the movie implies, that's the only thing keeping these crazy people sane.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThis is obviously a sincere undertaking, and there's a certain homemade charm to the special effects used in the combat scenes.
- 60VarietyDeborah YoungVarietyDeborah YoungHas the comically grotesque appeal of a Fellini film and could reach out to auds in specialized release. It lacks the originality and invention to go much beyond that.
- 50New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsSomething less than a gem. It has a brilliant lead performance from Yuliya Vysotskaya as Janna.
- 50Miami HeraldMarta BarberMiami HeraldMarta BarberHouse of Fools is not in the category of the director's acclaimed "Runaway Train." It may be based on a true story, but another filmmaker told it before -- and better.
- 30Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThere doesn't seem to be much purpose to it except a half-baked notion that the histrionics of the mentally insane (or a moviemaker's idea therein) are eminently cinematic. They aren't.
- 10Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonFor world-class lapses of judgment, Andrei Konchalovsky's House of Fools is a berserk overachiever.
- 10The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannHis (writer/director Konchalovsky's) plunge into the world of mental distortion is so garish, so exploitative, that the picture needs only a few clicks of the dial to move from the horrible to the ludicrous