Natural Light
Cherry Pickers Filmdistributie | Release Date: TBA CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Screen DailyLee MarshallMar 5, 2021
Natural Light is a tough, slow film that makes demands on its audience – though much of the real horror is as just-off-screen for us as it is for Corporal Semetka. But it’s also an absorbing, beautifully crafted, thought-provoking addition to the new Hungarian cinematic wave. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellNov 12, 2021
Natural Light illuminates the fading glow of humanity amidst horror. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 9, 2021
This is a world of brutality and fear from which the movie averts its gaze at key moments, but the chill is unmistakable. The title appears to refer to a light which is inexorably fading. Read full review
75
The PlaylistJack KingMar 16, 2021
For a film that so often trades in claustrophobic close-ups, some of the strongest compositions in Natural Light are its grander landscape shots, making a sinister beast of Hungary’s jagged treelines. Read full review
75
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMar 5, 2021
Nagy’s is a story of bleakness, a test of endurance, and a reminder that war is a hell that, atypically, refuses to rely on gratuitousness. And it ultimately, just about, earns that overbearing solemnity. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 13, 2026
Nagy immerses us in this time and this world with simple images, archetypal characters and common-to-combat-film situations, another army far from home, out of its depth and uncertain of the necessity and ethics of its mission. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansNov 14, 2021
In theory, natural light is more forgiving than its artificial counterpart: in photographs, it makes the subject look less harsh. Less so here. Read full review
60
EmpireJake CunninghamNov 10, 2021
The forceful imagery and acute sound design make Natural Light worth surrendering to, but a frail narrative may leave you feeling like you’re in no man’s land. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungMar 5, 2021
The finale is telegraphed far in advance, yet when it comes the drama is so down-played it doesn’t register in its full horror. Read full review
40
Little White LiesMarina AshiotiNov 22, 2021
This low-on-dialogue, low-on-action, high-on-atmosphere feat is deeply cinematic, yet begs the questions: is there anything new to be said about World War Two, and is Nagy’s effort enough to stand out in this terribly overcrowded genre? The answer, alas, is no. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyNov 12, 2021
Adapted from a section of Pál Závada’s 2014 novel, from the first wintry opening shot in which hunters hack away at a dead deer, Natural Light is a chilly, unknowable film, one that repeatedly evokes brutality and the more desolate tableaux found in Andrei Tarkovsky’s work to deadening effect. Read full review
40
VarietyJay WeissbergMar 5, 2021
Audiences amenable to cold, meticulous shots where people are accorded the same attributes as a landscape will find elements to admire, and certainly on a cerebral level there’s much to appreciate, yet Natural Light sheds no warmth and offers no insight into the horrors of the human condition during wartime. Read full review
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