The Breaking Ice

"A satisfying minor-key character study."

"Sweet and spectacularly beautiful..."

"Not as absorbing or fully realised as (Chen's) award winning debut Ilo Ilo, but his film-making has an arresting fluency and openness."

"The film is lifted by beautiful cinematography and Zhou’s performance, but the characters and story are lacking."

"The film borders on the sentimental, but never grows too cloying, in large part due to its light touch and charming performances."

"There’s a lot to look at... disappointingly little to digest."