Critic Reviews

Wise and wondrous.

An endearing, occasionally sentimental story told with depth and substance.

The bold long shot near the end of Dear Frankie allows the film to move straight as an arrow toward its emotional truth, without a single word or plot manipulation to distract us.

Subtle and graceful directorial debut.

The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom.

Material that might have turned to standard dysfunctional family treacle in other hands is given stirring poignancy, warmth and emotional insight in Shona Auerbach's assured first feature.

What could have been a sentimental train wreck emerges as a funny and touching portrait of three bruised people.

It is a sweet, wonderfully acted cameo of a movie about the lengths to which a lioness will go to protect her cub.

The film, with its painterly juxtapositions of dockside industry, green hills, and cloud-scudded sky, is full of misguided motives and fairy-tale fraud. But it rings true at heart.

The film tugs at us. And we forgive it its faults because it never loses sight of what it's supposed to be even though the story has a manipulative edge and maneuvers our feelings.