I Wish I Knew
Kino Lorber | Release Date: January 24, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Guy DixonJan 23, 2020
The pacing is steady. The stories are told simply, with zero affectation or buildup by the director. The effect is astonishing. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleFeb 13, 2020
What ensues amidst Jia’s indelible, gliding visuals of modern Shanghai are ruminative testimonials from the breadth of an older citizenry — former soldiers, descendants of gangsters and politicians, and (lots of) artists who endured the city’s turbulent evolution, and who in their stories of family, love and survival form a tapestry of memory and wisdom. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 23, 2020
In effect, with I Wish I Knew, Jia is building not just a portrait of a city, but of a fragmented people — one story and memory at a time. He is finding meaning in collective remembrance and revealing a world, to borrow a phrase from Walter Benjamin, “under the gaze of the melancholy man.” Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubLawrence GarciaJan 22, 2020
Even in shortened form, I Wish I Knew can at times feel overly discursive. But its implications, particularly regarding the Cultural Revolution, are difficult to miss. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 24, 2020
Even without access to all that it references, I Wish I Knew functions as an admirable cinematic tone poem about a place and its times. Read full review
70
The New YorkerRichard BrodyJan 23, 2020
Wondrous yet rueful views of the city, with its blend of grandeur and squalor, are anchored by the wanderings of an actress, Zhao Tao, whose mysterious role is clarified by one of the most anguished of testimonies. Read full review
67
The Film StageLogan KennyJan 23, 2020
The film is about the way we remember, from individuals looking back on the stories of life that their grandparents told them to the camera itself acting reflective of a time that’s destined to be finite. Read full review
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