“A FANTASTIC MOVIE. Masterfully written, directed, and acted. It’s the best gay movie I’ve seen this year.” Brent Hartinger, AfterElton

“A REVELATION, A MINIMALIST WORK OF MAXIMUM EFFECT. It is determinedly understated and consistently expressive, beautifully composed yet never studied.” Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

“A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR A GENRE THAT REALLY, REALLY NEEDS SOME VARIETY. Yen Tan’s film is a very quiet character study, providing the genre with an infusion of exactly what it needs: subtlety. This is the kind of movie that, at first glance, seems pre-engineered to be dismissed as a soap opera. That it manages to gracefully avoid being smacked with that label says a lot about its poignancy. The film is compelling and endlessly relatable. Which is, in its own quiet way, groundbreaking.” Thomas Sullivan, Washington Square News

“NOT TO BE MISSED. Essentially a character study in how we love and grieve, this graceful film packs an emotional wallop.”
Misha Davenport, Chicago Sun-Times

“THE WORK OF A YOUNG FILMMAKER DISCOVERING BEAUTY AND WISDOM THROUGH STORY AND HONEST CONVERSATION. When characters talk in Ciao, they aren’t being elusive or withholding for a gradual or sudden reveal, they’re honestly trying to make sense of difficult circumstances and emotions. The filmmaker’s faith in dialogue as crucial to narrative and character development as well as to personal recovery and romance may at first seem Clinton-era quaint, but it’s really just plain effective. Nothing but cheap suspense is lost when information and honest feelings are exchanged in Ciao, and what’s gained is something more lovely, complicated, and true.”
Eric Hynes, indieWire

“THIS UNDERSTATED FILM about two men who come together over
the death of a friend is less a romance and more a focused study of
two very different souls. Using a muted, deliberate aesthetic, director Yen Tan thankfully keeps the melodrama at bay.” Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

“REALISTICALLY CONVEYS THE VACUUM THAT IS OFTEN CREATED THROUGH THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE. Benefiting from fine performances from its intimate cast, Ciao is well worth seeing.” Chris Carpenter, Movie Dearest

“TOUCHING, REFRESHING AND MATURE. Director Yen Tan demonstrates his mastery in the realm of innuendo by creating a mood of sacred and somber reverence. The poignancy of this film can be compared to an iceberg composed of delicately and intimately held emotions and feelings of which only a tiny percentage are obviously visible and outwardly expressed.” Allyn Sterling, Spectrum Culture

“SOMETHING OF AN ANOMALY IN CURRENT U.S. GAY CINEMA. Subtle, satisfying and yes, sexy, Ciao is a storytelling miniature in minimalist style that nonetheless leaves a poignantly expansive aftertaste.” Dennis Harvey, San Francisco Bay Guardian 

“A CONTEMPLATIVE GRACE NOTE. As full of sexual tension as it is devoid of sexual activity, Ciao qualifies as a quietly charged change of pace for the gay fest circuit.” Ronnie Scheib, Variety

“VERY WELL MADE AND DOESN’T PLAY ON STEREOTYPES TO BROADEN ITS APPEAL. Yen Tan smartly allows the camera to linger on his subjects and the tone created elevates Ciao from a gay titled curiosity to something with weight.” Jonathan W. Hickman, EInsiders

“SUPERB. A no-frills movie with a wonderful script. This one is an absolute keeper.” Greg Hernandez, Out in Hollywood

“CHARMING AND ACCOMPLISHED. Leaving out the pasteurized feeling of most mainstream gay films, Tan opts for a sweetness that is not saccharine, and a tenderness that is truly heartfelt. It’s refreshing and hope infusing to see a film that is not a caricature or a homogenized version of gay life, but the honest portrayal of a nascent coupling built on the remains of a platonic relationship.” Jano Cortijo, Edge

“MANAGES TO STRIKE A SERIES OF PLANGENT EMOTIONAL TRUTHS ABOUT SPEAKING ONE’S HEART AND MOVING ON. The grace notes are obvious but gratifyingly small: a ride on a Vespa, an ancient arcade game, a home-cooked meal. The catharses are similarly life-size. Ciao is that rarity, a quiet but honest slice of queer culture in red-state America.” Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

“THIS MAY BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM IN THE FESTIVAL. Yen Tan sets up every shot with the care of a master painter. Low-keyed but powerful, thanks to the masterful blend of fine acting and insightful direction, enhanced by a subtle musical score.” Robert Baxter, Courier Post

“GAY INDIE FILMMAKING AT ITS BEST.” Genre

“THE EVENTUAL UNION IS TREATED WITH A SHOCKING MEASURE OF INTIMACY ONE RARELY ENCOUNTERS ON SCREEN. I can’t deny the genuine emotion I felt as the film unfolded. By the end, I had succumbed to it completely.” Michael Tully, Hammer to Nail

“ONE OF THOSE RARE FESTIVAL SELECTIONS WITH NEITHER AGENDA NOR LESSON, MERELY TRUTH. What could easily have manifested as a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy instead becomes a quietly honest series of exchanges.” Dayna Papaleo, Rochester City Newspaper

“GETS A LOT OF MILEAGE FROM ITS ATTENTIVE CARE TO ITS SIMPLE PLOT. It’s a quiet study of grief, but it’s also a contemporary snapshot of that awkward place where virtual relationships meet real ones. Today’s gay films tend to be one of three things: sex comedies, rent boy dramas, or wish-fulfillment romances. This climate alone makes Ciao unusually refreshing since it’s none of those things.” Nathaniel R., The Film Experience

“THE FILM’S AUSTERE VISUAL STYLE RECALLS THE WORK OF CLASSICAL JAPANESE CINEMA. And the skills of Adam Neal Smith and Alessandro Calza in rendering two lost souls who may or may not be able to come together in the wake of an unbearable tragedy makes Ciao both entertaining and enlightening.” Gary Morris, Just Out

“AESTHETICALLY MESMERIZING. A sensual and heartbreaking story of loss and redemption.” Mitch Montoya, Chicago Maroon

“LEAPS AND BOUNDS BEYOND OTHER GAY CINEMA AS OF LATE. There is a natural chemistry between the leads and an overall payoff that gives the apt title a great deal of emotional significance. What is essentially two people using each other for an otherwise challenging cessation, comes off as extremely human and sad, finding a homogeneity in the pain of loss.” Robert Bell, The Trades

“REMARKABLY POETIC. An austere soundtrack comprised of solitary piano keystrokes and director Yen Tan’s long, voyeuristic shots establish a solemn, steady rhythm that harmonizes magnificently with the tone of the story.” Elizabeth Kilduff, HX Magazine

“AN AFFECTING ROMANTIC DRAMA. Gratifyingly chaste, writer/director Yen Tan creates an intimate mood that allows viewers to be a part of the men bonding.” Gary Kramer, San Francisco Bay Times

“A GENUINELY BEAUTIFUL CONSTRUCTED ODE TO LOSS. The story is beautifully told, superbly acted and brilliantly filmed. I could not give a bigger recommendation to see this film as soon as you can.” Obliquity65

“THE FILM HAS A QUIET DIGNITY. Tan’s subtle touches, along with the faint but effective music score, seep into my heart in a very gentle fashion. I cannot stop thinking about the film. Tan is in his top form as a director.” Chris Chung, SFGAM

“BEAUTIFULLY SUBDUED, ASTUTELY NUANCED, HANDSOMELY CAST. Adam Neal Smith, as Jeff, sustains a guarded vulnerability that is quite lovely to watch.” Michael Guillen, The Evening Class

“AN INTRIGUING FILM. A touching character study of two men and the bond they form under unusual circumstances.”
Steven Lindsey, Gay List Daily

“REALLY MESMERIZING. A moody, introspective examination.”
Matthew Rettenmund, Towleroad

“GAINS MUCH OF ITS POWER THROUGH ITS HUMANITY. Tan has made something momentous out of many small moments.” 
Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald

“RECOMMENDED. Writer-director Yen Tan steers clear of the maudlin, building empathy and suspense.” Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

“AN UNPRETENTIOUS, QUIETLY EMOTIONAL FEATURE FILM that sets out to explore the way individuals care for one another and how loss can make our personal connections all the more acute.” Jamie S. Rich, DVD Talk

“ONE OF THE INTRIGUING ASPECTS IS THE SIMPLE PURENESS OF IT. Ciao is beautifully done and is so real in its exploration of human emotions.” Bill Biss, Rage Monthly

“THE JOYS OF THE FILM LIE MOSTLY IN OBSERVING THE TWO PRIMARY ACTORS RESIST THE URGE TO EXAGGERATE THEIR CHARACTERS’ GRIEF. Both Smith and Calza approach the leaden material with a highly likable humility. Their shared reluctance toward one another, and the emotional truths they suspect each other of hiding, is believably rendered in pockets of careful silence, half-hearted laughter and nimble euphemisms.” Joseph Jon Lathier, Slant Magazine