Superbly modulated yet unrelentingly grim, Mirage builds upon a remarkable performance from young Macedonian newcomer Marko Kovacevic to tell the tragic tale of a talented schoolboy driven to violence through neglect and manipulation.
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
You just know that any film that opens with Nietzsche's aphorism about hope being an evil that only prolongs the torments of man isn't going to a comedy.
70
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Film ThreatPhil Hall
The true power of the film comes from young Marko Kovacevic, who plays the poetic child lost in a family and culture where poetry has no meaning.
70
Village Voice
Village Voice
Marko's story is far from novel, but its wicked evocation of hopelessness transcends any familiarities.
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Ristovski needs us to feel his nation's torment, and he succeeds.
Mr. Ristovski's story (written with Grace Lea Troje) feels a bit underdeveloped, partly because he uses too many lingering, silent shots of Marko and doesn't give the boy much of a voice.
Ristovski wants the plight of a bullied moppet to serve as a sweeping metaphor for Macedonian struggle, but his miserablist excesses have the effect of converting realism into a graphic cartoon.