NEGATIVE REVIEWS. Masaya ba si Brillante sa turnout ng Captive sa  Berlin Filmfest?

"Very much!" bulalas niya.

"Ang importante kasi doon... kasi dito sa atin, usually ang pini-pickup, yung mga negative reviews."

Sa duration ng Berlinale, may mga lumabas na negative reviews ang Captive na nag-circulate sa Internet at social networking sites, tulad ng Facebook at Twitter.

Kabilang dito ang negatibong pagtukoy sa Captive.

"The bad movie that mainly defines the 'Captive' experience is epitomized by a CGI [computer generated image] bird..." ayon sa review ni Eric Kohn, ng Indiewire.

Opinyon ni Kohn, hindi nakatulong sa naratibo ang "strangely colorful and obviously artificial being."

Ang kuwento ng Captive ay base sa totoong insidente ng Abu Sayyaf kidnapping ng mga Pinoy at foreigners sa Palawan.

Ayon pa sa review ni Kohn, "The non-fiction backdrop and passing conversations about the politics driving the situation imply that Mendoza wants to make something deeper than a genre exercise, but neither Huppert nor various plot twists can salvage Captive."

POSITIVE REVIEWS. Kung may negative reviews, mayroon ding pambalanseng positive o rave reviews ang Captive.

Isa sa mga ito ay ang review na isinulat ni Nigel Andrews, international film critic, titled "Berlin Awards: A Mix of Farce and Tragedy," na lumabas sa opisyal na publication ng 62nd Berlinale.

Na-publish ang review, na pabor sa Captive at kay Direk Brillante, noong February 19, 2012, matapos ang BIFF awards night.

Nanalo ng Golden Bear Award (Best Picture) ang Italian film na Ceasar Must Die ng magkapatid na Italian filmmakers na sina Paolo at Vittorio Taviani.

Pero ganito ang naging assessment ni Nigel Andrews sa kabuuan ng mga award: "For the record, the main Berlin awards should have been as follows: Golden Bear: Just The Wind (by Bence Fliegauf/Hungary),  Special Jury Prize: Brillante Mendoza's Captive from the Philippines, which plunged us vividly into the fray and turmoil of a truth-based hostage crisis. Best actress, by a mile: Isabelle Huppert, giving her formidable all, in Captive."

Sa kanyang review ay tinutulan ni Andrews ang naging resulta ng parangal ng Berlinale, tulad ng Golden Bear award for Best Picture sa Caesar Must Die at Silver Bear award for Best Actress ni Rachel Mwanza para sa Rebelle (War Witch), a Canadian film, by Kim Nguyen.