After Blue (Dirty Paradise)
Altered Innocence | Release Date: June 3, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 3, 2022
Though its weak bounty-hunter plot makes almost no sense, After Blue satisfies that thirsty spot in our psyche too few films succeed in tickling, where dreams are born, hormones churn and logic simply doesn’t apply. Read full review
75
IndieWireJude DryOct 7, 2021
A kaleidoscopic fantasy warped through the lens of a 1970s sci-fi Western, After Blue is a synthetic siren song for the freaks of the future and the past. Read full review
70
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiJun 10, 2022
To enjoy After Blue, one should be open to an experience that overtakes the senses. Despite the long runtime, it offers a wholly unique experience. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiJun 1, 2022
A sapphic blending of Westerns and mythology (Boorman via Cocteau?) shot through a filter of Seventies sci-fi paperback covers, After Blue is the second proper feature from French experimental filmmaker Bertrand Mandico – although his output of shorts is abundant – following 2017’s The Wild Boys. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comKatie RifeJun 3, 2022
After Blue advertises itself as a sci-fi/fantasy epic, and although it’s a long and complicated story with many elaborate settings, it ends up feeling small and inconsequential by the end. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeOct 4, 2022
After Blue is a preposterous film, easy to ridicule. But it’s surely already halfway to cult classic status – destined to play midnight slots, watched by students smuggling bottles of red wine into the cinema under their coats. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubLeigh MonsonJun 1, 2022
It’s a film that is functioning on a very specific artistic wavelength that requires one to buy into it completely in order to fully appreciate its delights. Whether that specific frequency is too obtuse for all but the most hardcore enthusiasts for ’70s sci-fi is up for debate, but the curious would best be served to experience this strange new world for themselves. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineSaffron MaeveJun 16, 2022
To its credit, After Blue is very easy on the eyes, reminiscent of the kitschy, saturated pulp mags Mandico is clearly borrowing from. But its illusory schtick is better suited for a short film, rather than being taffy-pulled into a feature with so many sugary gaps in logic and feeling. You’re better off taking an edible and pressing play on Hounds of Love. Read full review
50
The New York TimesElisabeth VincentelliJun 2, 2022
It’s unclear what Mandico is trying to say, if anything, and the film overstays its welcome — even the wildest visuals lose their power to stun after a while — but “After Blue” certainly is sui generis. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeOct 11, 2022
It’s an overlong, indulgent slog. Read full review
40
TheWrapFran HoepfnerJun 2, 2022
For all its provocations, After Blue (Dirty Paradise) is rote and tedious. The body horror and gross-outs get repetitive, and none of it ever means much of anything. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 1, 2022
The pointlessness is the point, and there’s zero entertainment value in that, no matter how many critics throw up their hands and use “fever dream” as a reason to cop out, give it a thumb’s up, and move on. Read full review
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