Derrida
Zeitgeist Films | Release Date: October 23, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
0
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
L.A. WeeklyHolly Willis
The result is fascinating, whether you're smitten by him or his work, or simply intrigued by contemporary thought. Read full review
90
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
As the film takes shape, the form and the subject develop a fascinating symbiosis, with Derrida cast as an active participant in the deconstruction of his own documentary. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The adoring and adorable documentary on the philosopher Jacques Derrida. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Challenging and fascinating -- everything you didn't know you didn't know about Derrida's life and work.
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
The movie is ultimately about the philosopher's personality -- if you loved "Lingua Franca" (and what lumpen academoid did not?), you'll certainly dig Derrida. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
An absolutely first-rate documentary. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
If you think 85 minutes devoted to a "difficult" French philosopher is bound to be either abstruse or watered-down middlebrow stuff, think again. Read full review
80
Film ThreatTim Merrill
Even if you have no idea what French philosopher Jacques Derrida's theories are about, allow your mind the chance to be teased and twisted by the unique new documentary. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis Harvey
An affectionate but aptly complex view of one of our epoch's great philosophers. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The picture's charm lies in the continuing by-play between the filmmakers and their subject, with each side doing its best to deconstruct the other. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The sort of film one should probably see either a half-dozen times or not at all. It's a complex, highly ambitious documentary that aptly reflects its subject, contemporary French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Nicely photographed and beautifully scored. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The result puts a human face on Derrida, and makes one of the great minds of our times interesting and accessible to people who normally couldn't care less. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Who would have guessed a documentary about Derrida, the great French philosopher of deconstruction and "différence," would be so entertaining? Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Overall, the filmmakers are a little too reverent -- it would have been interesting to hear Derrida respond to criticism leveled against deconstruction as an academic methodology -- but then again, they're not entirely in control here. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A charming but only partly satisfying portrait of its subject. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
For those unfamiliar with the notoriously camera-averse philosopher and his thoughts, Derrida will most probably prove to be an unenlightening bore. Read full review
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