“A distinctively photographed, chillingly atmospheric tale of wartime horrors…a universally understandable parable about the inhumanity catalyzed by war and the division of postwar europe… evocative lensing by Christian Berger (“The White Ribbon”) and inventive production/sound design suggest violent undercurrents that resonates in the viewers' imagination, and clever animation makes the eponymous notebook a cinematic synecdoche.”
(VARIETY)