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Archipelago (15)

Archipelago (15)


The critical consensus

Is art the only way for the privileged to deal with their boredom and discontent? Hogg seems to be suggesting so.

****(*)Helen Wright, The Skinny, 19/02/2011

British writer/director Joanna Hogg follows her debut Unrelated with another insightful, impressively acted study of upper-middle-class family friction.

****(*)Tom Dawson, Total Film, 21/02/2011

Shot with grace and precision but paced with all the urgency of a Sunday afternoon stroll, Joanna Hogg's Haneke-lite study of an English middle class family is a well-crafted affair elevated by terrific moments.

***(*)(*)David Parkinson, Empire Online, 28/02/2011

Another rather too similar tale of middle-class ennui.

**(*)(*)(*)Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 01/03/2011

Archipelago isn’t always easy to watch, but it is honestly observed and has an emotional power that lingers.

****(*)Gail Tolley, The List, 02/03/2011

It’s not so much noises off as tensions off as the family’s secrets and frustrations slowly emerge.

****(*)Rob Carnevale, The Herald, 03/03/2011

A perceptive and beautifully composed portrait of a middle-class family in a state of subtle disarray.

****(*)Sukhdev Sandhu, The Telegraph, 03/03/2011

It's a difficult watch and a difficult sell, but this is quietly outstanding.

*****Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 03/03/2011

The acting’s first rate, but it’s far too long.

Paul Greenwood, Evening Times, 03/03/2011

As a study in strangled English politesse this film has something to say; I only wish its voice carried a little more vigour.

***(*)(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 04/03/2011

Hogg is brilliant at essaying the way families can inflict wounds on each other more by what they don't say than what they do say, and her use of long, static takes helps her achieve a remarkable sense of naturalism that ratchets up the skin-crawling – albeit frequently funny – tension that exists between her characters.

****(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 05/03/2011

It’s directed and performed with impeccable naturalism but feels slighter than her previous work, with fewer and less involving characters.

***(*)(*)Henry Fitzgerald, Daily Express, 04/03/2011

Archipelago is a major achievement – a very adult film about people who can't quite grow up.

Johnathan Romney, The Independent on Sunday, 06/03/2011

Archipelago is a subtle film of sensed absences.

Philip French, The Observer, 06/03/2011


Features about Archipelago (15)

Joanna Hogg explains how she made debut film Archipelago

Gail Tolley, The List, 17/02/2011

Archipelago: holiday from hell, film from heaven

Tim Robey, The Telegraph, 21/02/2011

The laugh-out-loud nightmares of Joanna Hogg

Catherine Shoard, The Guardian, 24/02/2011

'I reinvent my own rules each time I make a film'

Alison Rowat, The Herald, 24/02/2011

Arts: Joanna Hogg is doing something new, interesting and true to what she knows

Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 03/03/2011

Half Scottish, half famous...all talent

James Mottram, The Herald, 10/03/2011

Is Archipelago a class act or an empty gesture?

David Cox, The Guardian, 14/03/2011

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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