Dead Souls
Grasshopper Film | Release Date: December 14, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
89
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsDec 17, 2018
A massive, imposing work of non-fiction filmmaking that demands attention despite also being the sort of artwork that doesn't really need any of our attention to be great. Like a monolith, this thing just is. It also just happens to be great, sometimes despite and sometimes because of its mega-sized breadth and scope. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterClarence TsuiSep 8, 2018
Dead Souls is thoroughly focused and tightly structured. And it is an immensely perceptive piece about the history of China and its multitude of discontents. Read full review
90
The New York TimesBilge EbiriDec 13, 2018
Despite its intense running time and disturbing subject matter, Dead Souls does not seek a complete accounting. In fact, it’s partly about the inability to convey the full horror of these experiences. Read full review
90
Screen DailySarah WardSep 8, 2018
This essential documentary is necessarily, unflinchingly grim; the cinematic equivalent of walking in the survivors’ shoes, and a complex, challenging but crucial viewing experience that burrows its immense sorrows deep into the audience’s bones. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineSam C. MacSep 8, 2018
The anguish expressed and experiences described by the survivors certainly can overlap with each other, and even become repetitive, but it’s ultimately this unification of perspective that gives Dead Souls its authority—and that allows it to become an incisive reappropriation of collectivist solidarity. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 8, 2018
The storytelling ends up saying nearly as much as the stories themselves: Not simply capturing and filing memories, the film becomes a portrait of how these survivors have processed their trauma, how they’ve framed the horror of their experiences, and how they’ve coped with survivors’ guilt. Read full review
80
The GuardianPhil HoadNov 29, 2018
Wang’s film is a vital excavation of history in danger of being eroded away. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 8, 2018
Wang Bing’s Dead Souls is a powerfully sobering and clear-eyed investigation that justifies its length through the gravity and presence of its testimony. Read full review
67
The Film StageEthan VestbySep 8, 2018
This writer has to admit to struggling with the film when it came to the simple area of enjoyment, a push-pull between admiring its rigorous form and being slightly turned off by its lack of notes hit throughout. Read full review
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