Aquarius
Vitagraph Films | Release Date: October 14, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
88
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Total FilmSimon KinnearApr 9, 2017
A timely, inspiring parable of protest, directed with sinewy style and driven by Braga’s rock-solid lead performance. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 13, 2016
Aquarius is a marvelous and surprising act of portraiture, a long, unhurried encounter with a single, complicated person. And that is enough to make it a captivating film, an experience well worth seeking out. But there is also, as I’ve suggested, more going on than the everyday experiences of a modern matriarch. Read full review
100
Village VoiceMichael NordineOct 13, 2016
Brazil might not want you to know it, but Aquarius is something special. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 13, 2016
Some might well accuse this stubbornly singular woman of living in the past, but to watch Aquarius is to see her surrendering again and again to the bliss of the present moment — never more so than in a final scene of thrilling, annihilating ferocity. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 20, 2016
Braga has been presented with an uncommonly dense and multi-faceted role here, and she plunges into it with a kind of glossy-maned, leonine majesty, investing the character with a hard-won dignity that often has you stifling a cheer, but also exploring her flaws in gripping fashion. Read full review
91
The Film StageGiovanni Marchini CamiaMay 20, 2016
Clara is the film’s heroine and Braga deserves high praise for her phenomenal performance. Stately, headstrong, and all-too-recognizably human, she’s a delight to watch from start to finish, keeping the viewer mesmerized by her charisma and intensely rooting for her victory. Read full review
90
VarietyJay WeissbergMay 20, 2016
Aquarius is a character study as well as a shrewd meditation on the needless transience of place and the way physical space elides with our identity. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenNov 8, 2016
At 2½ hours, Aquarius is about a half-hour too long for the story it tells, yet it feels like a privilege to be in the presence of such a powerful character and such a quietly commanding performance. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 20, 2016
Braga has hardly stopped working since, on either continent, but Aquarius is a comeback, a homecoming, and a character film in which both the heroine and the actress playing her are characters of the first order. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireOct 14, 2016
Braga has created a formidable force of nature in Clara. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineChuck BowenOct 9, 2016
Aquarius is a critique of a daydream that has the imaginative daring to live that very dream anyway. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 12, 2016
So it’s marvelous to see Braga setting the big screen ablaze — speaking her native language, for once — in Aquarius, a Brazilian drama constructed entirely around her. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangMay 23, 2016
Braga is simply riveting in this gift of a role. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnMay 20, 2016
Though Braga's performance sometimes outshines Mendonça's leisurely two-and-a-half hour narrative, in its better moments the two work in marvelous harmony. Read full review
80
TheWrapBen CrollMay 22, 2016
Its languid pace befits the Recife setting, and Filho sets many scenes on long walks down the coast or just after a particularly satisfying mid-day nap. His world is filled with music, dance and wine, and if the film takes a some time to get where it’s going, the beachfront setting remains a pleasant place to stay. Call it an escapist tale about stubbornly staying put. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 20, 2016
It’s a richly detailed character study, immersing the audience in the life and mind of its imperious main character. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 20, 2016
This endearing old-age drama works best as an earnest and colorful character study, even if it doesn't really break any new cinematic ground. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 20, 2016
Favouring an unhurried pace, Filho takes the time to let us get to know Clara. And while the moments of drama are small and intimate, the effect is engrossing. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonGeoff AndrewMay 20, 2016
The virtue of Aquarius – the title, incidentally, alludes to the name of the block Clara lives in – is that it never feels the need to sermonise: its ethical, political and psychological insights are carefully contained within a consistently compelling narrative that feels fluid, relevant and true. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisOct 27, 2016
Aquarius has a lot of things on its mind, and sometimes the plot machinations in the last third seem a tad heavy-handed, almost as if they’re being piled upon a delicate character sketch. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 20, 2016
Right up to its somewhat perfunctory but sneakily satisfying conclusion, Aquarius makes a compelling case for looking up from our ubiquitous distractions to take in the world around us — the one that we live in and, whether we’re aware of it or not, lives in us. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 20, 2016
Braga isn't quite the whole show in Aquarius, but she's certainly a lot of it. Read full review
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