Massoud, the Afghan
New Yorker Films | Release Date: December 4, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
0
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The movie doesn't reach any deep insights, but its mixture of psychology, philosophy, and realpolitik is downright riveting. Read full review
80
VarietyLisa Nesselson
This educational and moving film is must-viewing for anyone who craves a glimpse of the best qualities of a country that many have coveted but which has never been colonized. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
A unique, priceless portrait of the now legendary leader, and of his beautiful country when it was in the grip of a disastrous civil war. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
History has since overtaken Ponfilly's film, which now more than ever seems like but one chapter in a much larger story -- the ongoing tragedy of Afghanistan -- and a tragic tribute to all that might have been. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
I was struck by how personal this movie is, and by the delicate symbiosis that develops between biographer and subject. Mr. Ponfilly's presence in the film (mostly on the soundtrack and once or twice on camera) does not overshadow Massoud so much as filter our understanding of him. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
It's not the least of Afghan tragedies that this noble warlord would be consigned to the dustbin of history. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
A weak documentary. There's very little here to demonstrate the personality and leadership qualities that made Massoud both a legend and a martyr. Raw, sloppily edited, unfocused and without any sense of scale, it's personal journalism with its heart in the right place, and that's about it. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
A series of non-answers isn't enough to build a documentary on, especially when they're strung together by insufferably self-congratulatory voiceover narration (de Ponfilly plays up his agony over whether documentary filmmaking helps or hurts its subjects) and corny stylistic effects. Read full review
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