Rebuilding Paradise
Abramorama | Release Date (Streaming): July 31, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 31, 2020
It’s frequently gripping and finally very moving. The director’s innate decency and forthright sense of craft does justice to a painful subject — one with unexpected connections to the 2020 pandemic moment. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 30, 2020
While the filmmaker keeps his eyes peeled for every possible shred of good news in the wake of disaster, he has little interest in peddling easy inspiration; the stakes are too colossal, the devastation too raw. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJul 30, 2020
It brings into focus not just the painful losses of loved ones and homes, but the sheer daunting scale of logistical planning, fundraising and negotiation with bureaucracies needed to rebuild the community. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJul 30, 2020
Rebuilding Paradise speaks to the resiliency of human beings, and maybe something about the American can-do spirit. Read full review
75
The PlaylistAsher LubertoAug 4, 2020
Rebuilding Paradise reminds us that even after a razing, life will return and grow from under the ashes of destruction. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJul 31, 2020
The result, a National Geographic production, is a gripping and moving story, even though it never quite lives up to its opening section, which is directed by Howard and edited (by M. Watanabe Milmore and Gladys Murphy) with such elegance and visceral power that it might be the most impressive piece of storytelling Howard has ever been associated with. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 30, 2020
Rebuilding Paradise is well worth seeing, but know that Howard’s taste for the upbeat keeps getting drowned out by a dire and dissonant doomsday drum. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekJul 31, 2020
Being fortunate enough to survive a catastrophic event doesn’t necessarily protect you from future heartbreak. Rebuilding Paradise recognizes that, though it also offers some cautious optimism. This is a movie about how life goes on, in defiance of whatever may have been burned away. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 30, 2020
Mr. Howard wants us to know that greater challenges lie ahead — not a welcome reminder while we’re in the grips of the coronavirus. Yet his documentary also dramatizes the resilience and resourcefulness we can bring to bear in meeting them. Calamity, the film says, isn’t destiny. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJul 30, 2020
Though it might seem generic in some respects, Rebuilding Paradise resonates with the moment. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJul 30, 2020
Rebuilding Paradise doesn’t make it any easier to imagine what it would be like to be in the eye of a cataclysmic firestorm, but it makes it easier to understand that some things are unimaginable, even if they’re very real. Read full review
60
Film ThreatAlex SavelievAug 1, 2020
It’s a reminder of human resilience that manages to be both powerful and deeply flawed. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanJul 30, 2020
Rebuilding Paradise is a movie that shows us a great deal without necessarily exploring what it shows. Read full review
58
The Film StageJared MobarakJul 30, 2020
It’s the type of human-interest story that touches upon the surface of what occurred in a way that hits audiences emotionally without actually saying much. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 30, 2020
An occasionally powerful, yet occasionally frustrating documentary. Read full review
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