Llosa, in only her second feature, reveals a maturity and confidence of a more experienced filmmaker.

| Sep 23, 2020

Ultimately it feels underdeveloped, done in by its own latent impenetrability, doggedly holding its audience at arms length.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 5, 2019

Some people have to be so brave just to live a normal life. What makes The Milk of Sorrow special is that, without being overbearing or explicit, Fausta's struggles to do just that can be seen as a metaphor for the struggles of Peru itself.

| Aug 9, 2018

Ably gives voice to a period in history almost completely invisible to the world at large.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 20, 2015

Llosa, daughter of the author Mario Vargas Llosa, employs symbolism so overwrought, her material might well have been better served as a text-even given the film's abundant visual virtues (particularly its spectacular use of landscape).

| Jun 17, 2013

The surface of Llosa's film may be placid, but the undercurrent of emotion is strong. She demonstrates exquisite control.

| Sep 7, 2010

The metaphors are so crystal-clear and the story unfolds at such a deliberate, often infuriatingly slow pace that the impact of the drama is muted.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 2, 2010

In due course, the painstakingly composed cinematography seduces the viewer.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 27, 2010

A troubling Peruvian film about how violence lingers in the minds, bodies, and souls of its victims.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 27, 2010

"The Milk of Sorrow" is constrained by a rarefied screenplay and a near-mute central performance.

| Aug 27, 2010

Claudia Llosa, the director and co-writer, favors wide shots and long takes, which lend an air of realism to the beautifully shot allegory.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 27, 2010

Heavily allegorical, frequently impenetrable and ultimately frustrating.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 27, 2010

An evocative character study painting a grim, if visually-captivating, portrait of a tormented soul suffering in silence while delivering a powerful message about the consequences of rape radiating across generations like ripples on a pond.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 26, 2010

The Milk Of Sorrow is about a country dealing with old wounds and old divisions, and it's about how sometimes it can be easier to cling to pain than to move past it.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 26, 2010

An affecting, gracefully crafted Peruvian film that struggles to breathe under the weight of too much allegory and symbolism.

| Aug 26, 2010

It is to Llosa's great credit that she has infused Fausta's awakening with dignity, and made her of a time, place, and conception not to be confused with any other.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 26, 2010

If you accurately described each scene, you'd have a book of poetry. That's how detailed and vivid are The Milk of Sorrow's rhythms.

| Aug 25, 2010

Trauma is buried and rarely alluded to in this quiet slice of magical realism -- but there's no denying the pain when it comes.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 25, 2010

The movie, which won the Golden Bear at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, is littered with unforgettable images of incongruity, destruction, and, finally, healing.

| Aug 24, 2010

Monotonous.

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/5 | Aug 18, 2010