Menashe
A24 | Release Date: July 28, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobePeter KeoughAug 16, 2017
Funny, heartbreaking, impeccably observed, and nearly flawless drama. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comNick AllenJul 28, 2017
Here is a film dedicated to recognizing our most common obstacles, its quiet storytelling largely accompanied by those feelings at the bottom of anyone’s gut: guilt, shame, defeat. Menashe is a gorgeous ode to everyone's inner screw-up. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnJan 28, 2017
With its intimate focus, Menashe avoids indicting the strict logic that stifles its anti-hero’s individuality (though secular viewers can reach their own conclusions). Instead, it succeeds at showing how his challenges are more universal than judgmental viewers might think. Read full review
90
The New York TimesKen JaworowskiJul 27, 2017
For sure, this funny and tender film prompts cheerful smiles, but sometimes they turn melancholy. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 10, 2017
The result is an act of partial, tenderly observed guerrilla filmmaking. It works; it takes you somewhere, quietly but evocatively, and it’s affecting without pulling at your heartstrings with both hands. Read full review
88
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanAug 10, 2017
By focusing on the details of his characters’ lives, Weinstein finds common ground on both sides of the religious divide. Read full review
88
TheWrapClaudia PuigJan 28, 2017
Menashe is a warm, relatable and tender tale about parental love, religion and belonging, told humanely and with vivid authenticity. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJul 27, 2017
The film (shot mostly in Yiddish) has an unpolished intimacy, peeling back the surface exoticism of a cloistered faith to reveal the poignantly ordinary struggle of being an imperfect person in the world. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJul 26, 2017
Menashe Lustig brings warmth and a lumpen charisma to Menashe’s lead role, giving life to a film based in part on his own experiences. Read full review
82
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpAug 3, 2017
The result is a sharp, moving dissection of personal identity and self-agency. Read full review
80
EmpireAndrew LowryDec 12, 2017
Doubling as a fascinating look at a subculture that is normally sealed off from the rest of us and a gently amusing comedy of manners, this manages to say an awful lot by, paradoxically, saying it endearingly gently. Read full review
80
Total FilmStephen PuddicombeDec 11, 2017
The low-key tone and casual pacing create an atmosphere akin to a fly-on-the-wall doc, while a nuanced moral conflict builds through the plight of the title character. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 28, 2017
The plot is a touch obvious, but Menashe still plays like a more culturally specific Kramer vs. Kramer, setting up a testy, fascinating dynamic between micromanaging rabbis and a naturally warm dad with wisdom of his own. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 27, 2017
As a slice of ultra-orthodox life, Menashe offers an unusual — and unusually sympathetic — look inside a world that is often hidden from view. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 10, 2017
Though the fate of his journey isn’t terribly well communicated, it’s a privilege to have observed Menashe’s world from the inside. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 28, 2017
Joshua Z. Weinstein's charming Menashe immerses us in an authentic environment of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and makes it relatable by weaving a sweet story familiar in its general contours, of a single father struggling to hold on to the son he loves. Read full review
80
Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyJan 28, 2017
In a bittersweet film like this, you wouldn’t call that magical, but you could call it real, as if the Dardennes came to Brooklyn, only funnier. That mood succeeds thanks to understated performances by Weinstein’s cast of mostly non-professionals, who seem to be working according to a life-script that they know well. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerAug 10, 2017
The news behind the understated drama Menashe is that it’s a rare thing, a film performed in Yiddish, covertly shot in Brooklyn’s guarded Hasidic community. Read full review
75
The PlaylistKyle KohnerAug 6, 2017
With a deep understanding of the connective power of cinema, Weinstein manages to present this little Hasidic community upon relatable grounds by giving us Menashe, a resonant human being full of relatable pains in the face of a lifestyle kept secret. Read full review
75
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJul 28, 2017
Menashe offers an affectingly intimate glance into a world largely unknown to those outside of it, one where faith is omnipresent over every facet of daily life and the troubled society outside is no concern of the neighborhood’s residents. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaMar 10, 2017
Striking throughout are the seemingly caught-on-the-wing moments that subtly enrichen the film’s characterizations. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 28, 2017
Menashe works as both a rare introduction to a way of life largely unseen (or exaggerated by those outside of it) as well as a touching depiction of fighting for what’s most important in life. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaAug 17, 2017
Weinstein normally directs documentaries, and Menashe has a fly-on-the-wall feel at times, particularly in the warmly believable interplay between father and son. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDaniel FelsenthalJul 27, 2017
Weinstein, who is neither a member of a Haredi community nor a speaker of Yiddish (on set, he used a translator), has created a work of interest partially because he is aware of his own distance from his subject matter. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAug 30, 2017
The end result? Compassion for the (literally) poor schmuck conjoined with a genuine sympathy toward his right-minded bunglings, noodle kugel and all. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonAug 16, 2017
The movie was (apparently) shot guerrilla style by director Weinstein, though the filmmakers have been coy as to which scenes were captured stealthily and which are dramatized. This leads to questions about tact and voyeurism that go unanswered and frankly made me a little queasy. Read full review
63
ObserverOliver JonesJul 27, 2017
The film ends up getting stuck in a no man’s land between fiction and documentary, never quite coming together as a complete narrative. Read full review
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