In the Pit
Kino International | Release Date: February 2, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The soft-spoken, impressionistic documentary (with a hypnotic score built from the sounds of construction) climaxes with a six-minute helicopter-cam view of the colossal structure to which these somebodies have been dedicating their sweat, and sometimes their very lives. Read full review
80
VarietyRobert Koehler
Leo Heiblum's pulsating music and Samuel Larson's dense, fascinating sound editing rewardingly compliment Rulfo's electrifying visuals. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
With In the Pit [Rulfo] isn't advancing any totalizing theory, a treatise on transportation or an argument about alienation; he is, rather simply and elegantly, revealing the secret human face of a seemingly inhuman world. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Rulfo's simple strategy of sticking close to his subjects and allowing them to wax philosophical about their lives and labors pays off. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Rulfo adds punch to his material with speeded-up visuals and an eye-popping, six-minute helicopter shot of the entire 10-mile project - which alone is worth the price of admission. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Life on the freeway is hell, but what comes next for these workers might be worse. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
It's an interesting, if dissatisfying rumination on the working people of industry -- how they labor, how they rest, what they think and feel. Read full review
50
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
What Rulfo needs, unfortunately, is what too many trendy directors forsake: some social context, some succinct voice-overs and some talking heads to put the serious issues (urban poverty, urban stress, environmental degradation, corruption) into perspective. Read full review
40
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
Captures the building of the freeway as well as the lives of the people working on it. The problem is, the lives of the people aren't all that interesting and the freeway being built isn't either. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNathan Lee
In the Pit's empathy feels strictly skin-deep, its insight even shallower. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesAlex Chun
Equally as perplexing as its lack of perspective is the film's overall shortage of information. Read full review
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