71
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangAs its delightfully loquacious title suggests, Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time is both methodical and enigmatic. It’s a movie that sees no real contradiction between the rational and irrational, only degrees of difference. The instinctive intelligence and curiosity that Márta brings to her emotional investigation, tempered by the kind of humility that only comes with great knowledge, is what makes her such an involving protagonist — someone you naturally want to follow down any rabbit hole that may present itself.
- 88Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneLili Horvát’s film delights in wallowing in ambiguity, contradiction, and doubt.
- 88RogerEbert.comCarlos AguilarRogerEbert.comCarlos AguilarWhile the film loses some of its mesmerizing potency in the climax and subsequent wrap-up, it's still a beautiful and acute rendering of what could be if some of the most implausible lies we tell ourselves were in fact true.
- 80The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaThe New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaA noirish psychodrama simmering with ambiguities, the film cleverly toys with our perception by loosening our heroine’s grip on reality.
- 80Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMovies are seldom flawless and don’t have to be. This one speaks more eloquently to how a spell can be woven rather than broken.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThe Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThis haunting slow-burn psychodrama is superbly acted and quietly gripping, despite some minor plot wobbles and that cumbersome title.
- 67Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiAustin ChronicleJosh KupeckiPreparations successfully trades narrative authority for a more provisional path, and much like its main character, remains wholly enigmatic.
- 58The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloEventually, Preparations has to stop preparing and deliver some sort of answer to its central mystery, even if that turns out to be one of those maddening or exhilarating (according to taste and/or how skillfully it’s handled) shoulder shrugs. Sadly, the reveal here is quite banal, which retroactively makes the film as a whole play like a prolonged, unsatisfying tease.
- 50The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdPreparations inspires intrigue, then curiously squanders it.