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Esther Kahn
Directed by
Arnaud Desplechin
Not Rated
2002
2h 22m
Drama
,
Romance
6.7
54%
63%
5.9
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A Jewish girl in 19th-century London dreams of becoming a stage actress.
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Cast of Esther Kahn
Summer Phoenix
Esther Kahn
Ian Holm
Nathan Quellen
Fabrice Desplechin
Philippe Haygard
Akbar Kurtha
Samuel Kahn
Frances Barber
Rivka Kahn
László Szabó
Ytzhok Kahn
Hilary Sesta
Buba
Claudia Solti
Mina Kahn
Berna Raif
Becky Kahn
Arnold Brown
Rabbi
Leon Lissek
Theatre manager
Ian Bartholomew
Norton
Samantha Lavelle
Christel
Paul Ritter
Alman, the photographer
Emmanuelle Devos
Sylvia l'Italienne
Kika Markham
Trish
Anton Lesser
Sean
Tony Vogel
Dodo, Trish's husband
Claire Lubert
Colleague in the Match Factory
Arnaud Desplechin
Director / Writer
Esther Kahn Ratings & Reviews
Vague Visages
James Slaymaker
Phoenix delivers an opaque but strikingly physical performance, reminiscent of the women in Charlie Chaplin's films.
The Baffler
A.S. Hamrah
Among the best films ever made about acting...
Combustible Celluloid
Jeffrey M. Anderson
I found it endlessly fascinating.
L.A. Weekly
Manohla Dargis
Beautiful and baffling.
MovieMartyr.com
Jeremy Heilman
Attempting to determine whether the offstage trauma that she's undergoing is genuine or an extreme form of method acting becomes the film's dramatic crux, and it's more than enough to hold the viewer's attention
One Guy's Opinion
Frank Swietek
An ambitious, serious film that manages to do virtually everything wrong; sitting through it is something akin to an act of cinematic penance.
Dallas Morning News
Rasmi Simhan
The narrator and the other characters try to convince us that acting transfigures Esther, but she's never seen speaking on stage; one feels cheated, and Esther seems to remain an unchanged dullard.
Boxoffice Magazine
Ed Scheid
Like its title character, Esther Kahn is unusual but unfortunately also irritating.
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
What makes Esther Kahn so demanding is that it progresses in such a low-key manner that it risks monotony. But it's worth the concentration.
New Times
David Ehrenstein
Beautifully produced.
Filmcritic.com
Athan Bezaitis
if you are an actor who can relate to the search for inner peace by dramatically depicting the lives of others onstage, then Esther's story is a compelling quest for truth.
Observer
Andrew Sarris
Ms. Phoenix is completely lacking in charm and charisma, and is unable to project either Esther's initial anomie or her eventual awakening.
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Ranks among the best films ever made about the acting profession.
Newsday
Gene Seymour
It's a lot to ask people to sit still for two hours and change watching such a character, especially when rendered in as flat and impassive a manner as Phoenix's.
New York Post
Megan Turner
The French director has turned out nearly 21/2 hours of unfocused, excruciatingly tedious cinema that, half an hour in, starts making water torture seem appealing.
New York Times
A.O. Scott
The problem is that rather than dramatizing this premise, Mr. Desplechin is content to state it.
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Confounding because it solemnly advances a daringly preposterous thesis. Acting cannot be acted.
Apollo Guide
Jon Lap
A well-done film of a self-reflexive, philosophical nature.
Film Journal International
Eric Monder
A film worthy of comparison to Truffaut's best cinematic poems.
The Hollywood Reporter
The good stuff gets suffocated under the self-indulgent pace and needless length.
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