Ultimately undercut by its fictional elements and its flat characters.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 13, 2005

This movie deserves to be seen -- and learned from. It captures the moments in which each of us stares out across an emptiness, searching for a connection that will keep us from falling.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 6, 2005

The chill in the air is deadening for the viewer.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 1, 2005

In an impressive feature debut, director-screenwriter Josh Sternfeld takes an observant, nuanced look at human behavior.

| Original Score: B | Apr 28, 2005

The performances are excellent...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 22, 2005

This kind of conceptual and directorial control isn't as easy to accomplish as it might look, and it's particularly welcome in this era of overheated hysteria, both on the screen and off.

| Apr 21, 2005

Granted, we're not wild about hams who try to flood the theater with emotion, but having them bottle up everything while they stand around looking gloomy isn't the answer, either.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 21, 2005

This is minimalist filmmaking at its finest -- beautifully acted, dramatically fulfilling, often funny and achingly true.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Apr 21, 2005

We learn little about the characters other than that they're bored and restless.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 15, 2005

The characters interact through lowered gazes, the shuffling of feet, the semi-grunted, 'hey,' of greeting followed by a responding 'hey.'

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 15, 2005

The movie is not plot-driven, for which we must be thankful, because to force their feelings into a plot would be a form of cruelty. The whole point is that these lives have no plot.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 14, 2005

Writer/director Josh Sternfeld has a feel for life's little interactions -- the moments before or after Big Things Happen, otherwise known as: most of the time.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 14, 2005

A quivering portrait of a grief-stricken family, all male, after the loss of a wife and mom.

Full Review | Apr 12, 2005

This is a real triumph of storytelling and character.

Full Review | Apr 11, 2005

Winter Solstice is a well-built machine that dunks you into a big warm vat of sadness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 8, 2005

A gracefully understated drama about a widower trying to help his sons - and himself - heal after a tragedy.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 8, 2005

So much is unspoken and this slice of reality is so thin and slow as to make the film downright unsatisfying.

Full Review | Apr 8, 2005

A graceful ensemble piece with effective performances from the entire cast.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 7, 2005

Winter Solstice is the kind of ambling, event-free family drama that will either draw audiences in with its gentle, understated power or quietly bore them out of their skulls.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 7, 2005

You come to admire the way Winter Solstice delivers its emotional impact by showing more than telling.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 7, 2005