Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
Music Box Films | Release Date: June 13, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 12, 2012
Rare is the profile that captures so much oddness with so little judgment. You owe yourself a chance to be challenged. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJun 13, 2012
We're given an intimate seat to this wildly democratic - and creepily messianic - spectacle. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 14, 2012
"It is extremely difficult to be like a mountain, to create stillness in the middle of hell," is how Abramovic describes her task. The most resonant part of this surprisingly emotional film demonstrates how powerful this interaction is, how it expresses something that is no less moving for being, literally, beyond words. Read full review
88
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJun 15, 2012
The second half offers shot after shot of the people who sat opposite Abramovi - an unexpectedly enthralling record of reactions that range from stark agony to rather phony amusement. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 16, 2012
This may seem like a stunt, but the experience, with many of the sitters tearing up, or smiling beatifically, is overwhelming to watch. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJun 13, 2012
The documentary seems a little structureless and unfocused at times, as Akers moves from dramatic moment to dramatic moment, not always taking care to connect them. Read full review
80
Total FilmSimon KinnearJan 18, 2015
Matthew Akers’ document of the event skews close to hagiography but is consistently informative in charting Abramović’s career, and genuinely engaging thanks to his subject’s witty, unpretentious presence. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon WiseJul 2, 2012
A little pretentious maybe, but then you've got to wonder at a woman who could sit motionless in a wooden chair, eight hours a day for three months. Read full review
80
MovielineMichelle OrangeJun 14, 2012
An elegantly observed, sleekly packaged look at an artist whose career-long balance of enigma and self-exposure culminated in a 2010 retrospective at New York City's Museum of Modern Art. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeSebastian SmeeSep 6, 2012
The oddest moment in this riveting documentary comes when Marina Abramovic, the performance artist, meets David Blaine, the illusionist. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJun 14, 2012
Abramovic is a sensationally attractive narcissist and the filmmakers are clearly smitten with her, but the film goes a long way to establish the intellectual seriousness and dedication involved in her ambitious series of art stunts. Read full review
70
VarietyRobert KoehlerJun 12, 2012
An intelligent overview that makes a radical artist's work comprehensible to audiences with no previous awareness of her or her chosen path. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnJun 12, 2012
The filmmaker's first-rate access feels like a kind of desecration. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaJun 12, 2012
As entertaining as the documentary is, it never really measures up to the fascination and sheer force of personality of its subject. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 14, 2012
This trip through the seminal performance artist's (often literal) body of work is sometimes too cozy, yet Abramovic might argue that objectivity is impossible if truth is the destination. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJun 12, 2012
Matthew Akers' film is a personally revealing look at an artist most famous for maintaining stone-faced silence for three months. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 12, 2012
Like many other recent documentaries about artists, it is more celebratory than analytical, a kind of slick, extended promotional video for its subject. Read full review
60
Village VoiceChris PackhamJun 12, 2012
She's trying to access a shared humanity, to foster an unusual intimacy with viewers - to strip herself, often literally, to a naked and undeniable truth. Read full review
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