Free Chol Soo Lee
MUBI | Release Date: August 12, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 25, 2022
In its clear-eyed empathy for the totality of life, Free Chol Soo Lee is only deepened by not ignoring what happens when the spotlight fades on a righted wrong, and what’s left are demons, trauma, guilt and that thing both sought after and scary: being free. Read full review
83
The PlaylistR. Colin TaitJul 27, 2022
Directors Ha and Yi’s unflinching portrait of Lee is also admirable, as the movie shows the overall effects of a system indifferent to people who fall through its cracks. By staying with Lee and his story, from his early years in Korea, to his later years in America as an injured ex-convict, the documentary shows how the damage to Lee occurred, both as a death row inmate and a reluctant figurehead for the movement that coalesced around him. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeAug 22, 2022
[An] impressive and wrenchingly sad documentary. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeAug 19, 2022
The directors do good work in conjuring up a remote era and teasing out still extant racial tensions. One does, however, end up yearning to hear a little more about how the legal team went about their work. A good complaint to have. Read full review
80
The GuardianCath ClarkeAug 16, 2022
What makes the film so engrossing is how much attention the film-makers give to Lee’s complicated life after prison. Read full review
80
Film ThreatRay LoboAug 12, 2022
There’s a throughline in this country’s history that goes from The Asian Exclusion Act to Chol Soo Lee’s case to publicized cases in the last few years of hate crimes against Asians. Free Chol Soo Lee reminds us that when we sit on the sideline and do not actively fight against discrimination and the stereotyping of Asians, real people, such as Chol Soo Lee, suffer. Read full review
78
TheWrapLena WilsonAug 12, 2022
In the documentary Free Chol Soo Lee, first-time doc directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi use archival materials in an attempt to present their tragic hero in all three dimensions. Despite their efforts, Soo Lee feels just out of reach, but the story of his life remains as important as it is horrifying. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonAug 12, 2022
Chol Soo Lee’s complicated story deserves to be told; this film does a good job telling it. Read full review
75
The Film StageJohn FinkJul 27, 2022
Directors Ha and Yi craft a compelling and moving tribute to a man who was by no means a perfect person but nevertheless had a remarkable impact on breaking barriers. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsAug 22, 2022
Free Chol Soo Lee is not a true crime documentary. If anything, it goes out of its way to avoid becoming one. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeJul 27, 2022
Free Chol Soo Lee vibrates with this broader understanding of incarceration. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyJul 27, 2022
It’s a well-crafted enterprise that leaves its human subject a bit of an enigma, albeit one we empathize with enough to feel sorely disappointed that his tumultuous life never arrived at a place of security or peace. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 22, 2022
As documentary Free Chol Soo Lee shows, it's wisdom that seems to evade what are supposed to be the mechanisms of that justice. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandAug 12, 2022
If the film gives us hope for anything, it’s that such a miscarriage of justice can never happen again — and if it does, many will be there to answer the call. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergAug 12, 2022
Free Chol Soo Lee is somewhat dry and, as criminal-justice documentaries go, sadly familiar when it strays from Lee’s unique and grim perspective, which includes details of his struggles with prison life and depression. Read full review
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