In Praise of Love (film) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The film critic for The New York Times, A.O. Scott, while praising the film also found its anti-American content polemical. He wrote, "In Praise of Love, it must be said, is the most elegant and coherent feature he has made since the mid-1980s. His visual command -- of the velvety shadows of black-and-white 35-millimeter film and the thick, supersaturated tones of digital video -- still has the power to astonish, and his debonair gloom remains seductive. But to continue with the notebook analogy, the decorous prose, graceful penmanship and impressive paper stock cannot disguise the banality of what is written." Film Comment named it one of the top 50 films of the decade (2000s).

Some reviews were more negative. Film critic Charles Taylor criticized Godard for "talking about Americans having no stories of their own, no past of their own (he claims we don't even have a name)" and questioned "How can a man who, along with his colleagues in the French new wave, did more than anyone to alert America to the art of its movies, the art we always took for granted, suddenly turn around and proclaim the whole culture worthless?" Film critic Roger Ebert took issue with scenes in the film in which Godard accuses filmmaker Steven Spielberg of never paying Emilie Schindler for her contributions to his 1993 film Schindler's List, and leaving her impoverished in Argentina. Ebert wrote, "One muses: (1) Has Godard, having also used her, sent her any money? (2) Has Godard or any other director living or dead done more than Spielberg, with his Holocaust Project, to honor and preserve the memories of the survivors?" The claim that Emilie Schindler was living in poverty was also disputed by Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark, who verified that he had sent her a check himself.

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 53% of mainstream critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 70 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.

Japanese film critic Shigehiko Hasumi listed the film as one of the best films of 2000-2009.