Rating: 
Summary: Acting & Cinematography help weak script
Review: "The Man Who Cried" is a handsome, episodic film which has several visually brilliant moments and some fine performances. It does not ultimately, however, add up to a particularly satisfying emotional whole. The script by Sally Potter, who also directed, tries to cover too many events occurring over a period of at least twenty years. The movie begins in rural Russia where a little Jewish girl named Suzie lives in a village with her father and grandmother. The father leaves her behind to seek a better life in America. He promises to send for her, but violence and warfare come to her region, and she winds up a refugee in England. All she has left is a tattered photograph of her father. She is taken in by a middleclass family. She learns to sing and dance, but she never feels the joy those talents can bring. As a young adult [played by Christina Ricci], she decided to go to Paris. She meets Lola [Cate Blanchett], a beautiful, tempestuous fellow Russian expatriate. They become friends and roommates. Lola sets her sights on famous opera singer [John Turturro], while Suzie's heart is stolen by a gypsy [Johnny Depp]. The snobbish, bigoted opera star doesn't like the fact that Suzie runs around with such lowlife. He also taunts her for being Jewish. When the Nazis invade Paris, her life becomes increasingly chaotic. If only she can find a way to make it to America... Christina Ricci, one of our finest and most adventurous young actresses, is excellent. Hers is a difficult role because she has so few lines to speak and must convey a great deal through body language and facial expressions. The great Cate Blanchett is given plenty to say and says it all with her usual finesse. Johnny Depp and John Turturro make the most of their smaller but important roles. Perhaps the greatest contribution is made by Sacha Vierny, whose masterful cinematography goes a long way in masking the deficiencies in Ms. Potter's script.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Bad- The Stars Are For Johnny Depp
Review: This movie has superb acting, beautiful scenery and for awhile it seems it might actually add up to something, but the screenplay is just lazy, with an abrupt ending that COMPLETELY ruins the movie. Only watch this if you are a huge Johnny Depp fan!
Rating:
Summary: Dull
Review: I looked forward to this film, but all together it is very not engaging at all. I love foreign films,and I'm used to slow pace.But this one just went no where fast. The acting is good. Ricci is great, as is Depp as a quiet Gypsy. Blanchett is good, and Tuttorro even arouses a little sympathy, as an Italian nationalist. But all together this film is uneffecting. I didn't care about the charachters either way. It's only saving grace is the touching ending, if you can make it that far.
Rating:
Summary: What a Waste
Review: I rented this movie with no advance knowledge of it -- hadn't read any reviews or talked to friends. Knew of Sally Potter's reputation as an original and interesting filmmaker. But having now seen the whole sad thing, I wonder what she really meant to accomplish. These wonderful, skilled actors -- Ricci, Turturro, Blanchett, Depp, Stanton -- are forced to work with almost nothing in the way of a script (or direction?). Ricci and Depp are the least fortunate, since they are given almost nothing to say, either to each other or their colleagues. They do great work with a handful of deep, "meaningful" glances at each other, etc., but we never really get to know them or develop sympathy for their characters. On the other hand, Turturro's opera divo gets to talk a lot, but it's all Standard Fascist Bigot Blather. You very soon want him to put a sock in it! Surely there's more to his character than that, and ditto for Cate Blanchett's Russian gold-digger. I have to disagree strongly with the reviewers who praised this movie's historical verisimilitude. In the central, pre-WW2 Paris section, I felt that the general atmosphere (visuals), characters' behavior, sequence of events, and more did NOT create a convincing picture of that time or place. The principals seem to wander about lost in their own immediate concerns, completely unaware of the rise of French fascism, of the danger posed by Hitler, etc. Potter attempts to give us some sense of what is going on, with quick little tableaus showing innocent Jews being hauled off, property being burned. But these are handled in an almost abstract fashion, and it's hard to relate them to the love quadrangle. Turturro's "prayer scene" on the eve of the German invasion is ludicrously unbelievable, as is the apparent ease with which Blanchett's character facilitates one of the last plot twists of the Paris episodes. Two stars go for the cinematography (not the editing however) and especially for the effective use of music. Golijov's original score and also the opera arias, gypsy tunes, etc., make a very effective mix -- they provide almost the only atmosphere and emotional input in the whole movie.
Rating: 
Summary: AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL
Review: The highlight of this movie is the sex scene which is pretty disturbing when you think of Johnny Depp's age (now 39) and Christina Ricci (now 21). Nasty. Don't buy...
Rating:
Summary: don't see it don't rent it AND DON'T BE ASTUPID TO BUY IT..
Review: please please please 3 stars reviews and 2 stars for what, i really expected more from john depp and nina ricce what is the story ok , some girl in russia with here father who went to usa to work ,never came back again! ....
Rating: 
Summary: amazing
Review: this movie was so full of depth, the languages, the colors, the music, the scenery everything was amazing.
Not quite historically correct but it doesnt really matter
Rating:
Summary: A sleeper of astonishing colour and beauty
Review: "The Man Who Cried" is a feast for the eyes and ears alike. One recent review called it "the art-house companion to Moulin Rouge," and that doesn't seem too far off. The film begins with Fegele and her father in 1927 Russia, with a beautifully photographed game of hide and seek. Fearing for his family's safety, her father sends her away to America, but Fegele ends up in England by mistake, is renamed Suzie and is raised by a grim British couple. The scenes of the Russian shtetl are grim, and colour truly doesn't become pronounced until we see the cabaret shows of Paris, the gaudy costumes and headdresses and the opera sets. Suzie (Christina Ricci) runs into fellow showgirl Lola (Cate Blanchett) and the two room together, locking horns over Italian sensation Dante, the main draw at the theatre, who also happens to be a fascist. Lola gets her way and her man. Enter one very mysterious, brooding Gypsy horseman (Johnny Depp, reprising his role from Chocolat) who captures Suzie's heart. This entire whirlwind of music, passion and drama occurs on the eve of World War Two, and Suzie is in danger of being discovered as Jewish. The cinematography is gorgeous, with washed-out colours in Russia, beautiful cityscapes of Paris (especially the bike/horse chase at night!), gaudily bright costumes and opera sets, the exotic colour, music and flair of the Gypsy camp and costumes. The colour brings to mind the brilliant Technicolour prints of the earlier days, with vibrant, surreal colours. The soundtrack is equally stunning, with contributions by newcomer Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra, the Kronos Quartet, the Gypsy ensemble Taraf de Haidouks, and Czech songstress Iva Bittova providing the voice for Christina Ricci. The operatic selections by Bizet, Puccini, Purcell, and Verdi are balanced by original score (the stunning "Close Your Eyes" is the most beautiful song in the movie) and frantic Gypsy music. Bittova's "Gloomy Sunday" is a delightful study in atmosphere, and appropriately sets the tone for an onscreen event near the end of the film. "The Man Who Cried" is an unusual, beautiful, and touching glimpse at a decadent Europe on the brink of war, the vibrant Gypsy culture, the Jewish shtetls of Russia, and the world of opera, all intertwined with romance and connections to the past.
Rating:
Summary: An unsatisfying and overlong epic.
Review: Christina Ricci portrays an orphaned Jewish girl raised in England just before the Second World War. She becomes a chorus girl in Paris and hooks up with a hammy roommate (and fellow dancer) played by Cate Blanchett and a watchful Gypsy stud played by Johnny Depp. There's also a scene-chewing, unpleasant role for John Turturro as an arrogant Italian opera singer. By the time the Germans invade Paris, you're ready to exit this film as well. *** Director Sally Potter's previous films include "Orlando" (based on the novel by Virginia Woolf) and "The Tango Lesson" in which she starred and even performed as a dancer. The latter is a wonderful, almost-documentary electrified by the commanding soulfulness of the tango. *** "The Man Who Cried" has more in common with the difficult and overlong "Orlando." Despite Potter's artistic eye and sense of striking imagery, the storytelling remains muddled. You're really not sure why you're supposed to care about the characters. The spotlight follows Ricci even though she seems obviously uncomfortable and ready to bolt. The supporting roles criminally underuse Blanchett and Depp who both deserve more. *** The most compelling aspect of "The Man Who Cried" concerns Ricci's character and the search for her father who left Russia for America. This, however, is given the least amount of screen time. In fact, you can watch the first fifteen and the last fifteen minutes of the film and be done with it.
Rating:
Summary: score 2; film 0
Review: From the haunting opening notes of "Je crois entendre encore", through the first scenes with the darling little Russian girl I thought I would like this film. But as it went along, not only did the characters become less believable, they just devolved into broad, insulting stereotypes. The film did pretty well equally insult every race, religion and ethnic group they came across, so it didn't single anyone out. They all seemed like ethnic cartoons! The score, however almost saves it. Well, no, it doesn't. There are plenty of great recordings of 'Les Pecheurs de perles' and "La Favorita" out there. No need to subject yourself to this.
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