Though 500 Miles tries too hard to wring tears from your eyes, knockout performances by the film’s two young actors sustain this emotional and surprising road trip.

It’s a well-meaning film about trauma and grief, but its sledgehammer approach quashes any subtlety and originality, leaving you with a work that feels calculated in its teeth-itching niceness.

I just think it's got a tonal shift it doesn't know how to manage and doesn't.

After two relatively predictable acts, the story introduces a final twist that forces us to reinterpret everything we've seen. This is precisely what makes the film so deeply moving when it concludes. [Full review in Spanish]