Cold Souls

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Cold Souls

PG-13

2009

1h 41m

Comedy

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

120 Reviews

54%

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25,000+ Ratings

Paul (Paul Giamatti), an actor, is having trouble preparing for the title role in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." A magazine article puts him in touch with Dr. Flintstein, who specializes in the extraction and exchange of souls. Paul receives the essence of a Russian poet and is a rousing success onstage, but offstage, his new soul is taking over his life. A black-market courier named Nina (Dina Korzun) joins forces with Paul on a journey to Russia to find his lost soul.

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Critics Consensus

Straddling existential drama and surrealist comedy, Sophie Barthes debut feature is beautifully shot and full of inventive quandaries.

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Perri Nemiroff

CinemaBlend

Barthes introduces a captivating concept provoking a number of philosophical questions, but never answers them making the film unsettling and difficult to enjoy.

Rated: 2 1/2

Aug 12, 2010

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

Cold Souls is imitation Kaufman, written and directed by newcomer Sophie Barthes, who makes no effort to hide the source of her inspiration.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 26, 2009

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

The result is a deliciously deadpan piece of absurdism with some unexpectedly poignant touches.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 26, 2009

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Jason Best

Movie Talk

Bizarre? Certainly. But funny, touching and thought-provoking, too.

Nov 29, 2020

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Amie Simon

Three Imaginary Girls

Clever and contemplative with excellent performances all around.

Mar 10, 2019

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Kelly Jane Torrance

Washington Times

Mr. Giamatti, in a humble and winning performance, carries this witty film, with the help of a talented supporting cast - in particular, Dina Korzun, who plays a Russian soul mule with tough grace.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 5, 2018

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Elius B

Really nothing special, good idea but it gets boring quickly.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/03/25

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Simon T

There's a lot that's good in this Being John Malkovich style comedy drama: the photography, the music, several of the performances. For the first half-hour it's intriguing, blackly funny, unpredictable. Unfortunately it then loses its way as it chases its increasingly ludicrous plot down endless rabbit holes. Paul Giamatti is a Marmite actor: those poached egg eyes and tendency to over-act rather spoil things. A missed opportunity.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

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Gareth v

A smart and quirky comedy led by Paul Giamatti playing the type of role he is so comfortable with. It does at times seem to be trying too hard to be the next Kaufman or Spike Jonze.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/23

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Audience Member

Great movie, but I think it deserves more credit. I noticed an error, however: they say Olga's soul must have "dried up" after they take Giamatti's back from her, but her old soul would've left her body when she acquired Giamatti's. Remember, in this movie they can only swap souls and extract them. Bravo on them making the whole soul-swapping thing seem "sciencey", also.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Uneven film only comes alive in the scenes with Giamatti and Strathairn.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Very reminiscent of a Charlie Kaufman film but scarcely pulling it off with it's vaguely interesting ideas and plot never really taking off.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

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Sophie Barthes

Director

Paul Giamatti

Paul

Dina Korzun

Nina

Emily Watson

Claire

David Strathairn

Dr. Flintstein

Lauren Ambrose

Stephanie

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Synopsis

Paul (Paul Giamatti), an actor, is having trouble preparing for the title role in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." A magazine article puts him in touch with Dr. Flintstein, who specializes in the extraction and exchange of souls. Paul receives the essence of a Russian poet and is a rousing success onstage, but offstage, his new soul is taking over his life. A black-market courier named Nina (Dina Korzun) joins forces with Paul on a journey to Russia to find his lost soul.

Director: Sophie Barthes
Producer: Daniel Carey, Elizabeth Giamatti, Paul Mezey, Andrij Parekh, Jeremy Kipp Walker
Screenwriter: Sophie Barthes
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: Journeyman Pictures, Touchy Feely Films
Rating: PG-13 (Nudity|Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 7, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $903.1K
Runtime: 1h 41m

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