Resistance
IFC Films | Release Date (Streaming): March 27, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMar 26, 2020
A tense and gripping thriller inspired by yet another true-life, World War II-era tale of courage and resolve against one of history’s most unthinkable evils. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMar 27, 2020
It’s a cogent expression of the proper spirit of resistance—that it should be based in love, but expressed in action. Direct, effective action. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 26, 2020
You should approach Resistance as a fact-based World War II movie and not think much about the Marceau connection. The truth is, even if young Marcel didn’t go on to become a major artist, this was a story worth telling. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 26, 2020
Though Marceau's artistic ideals are central to the film, Resistance happily avoids novelty, making its hero one credible human among many in a wartime tale that, though largely familiar in its feel, dramatizes a question that has become urgent for many in recent years: How does one best resist hatred — by fighting its proponents, or rushing to assist its targets? Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 9, 2020
Resistance tells a story that’s plenty strong on its own terms, and if anything, it’s a bonus that one of the key participants should survive to become famous. Afforded depth and gravitas by Angelo Milli’s string score, the film hardly needs the framing device in which Ed Harris appears as Gen. George S. Patton, regaling his troops with Marceau’s story before inviting him onstage for his first public show. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakMar 24, 2020
Poésy, Kerekes, and Röhrig steal many scenes with their emotional investment to their respective roles. Schweighöfer is easy to hate . . . and Eisenberg is effective yet again as a “genius” whose pragmatism borderlines on Asperger’s if not full-on misanthropy. If the story itself doesn’t grab your attention, their performances within should. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiMar 21, 2020
The film functions as a handsomely mounted biopic that tells a little-known story with considerable passion. Read full review
62
TheWrapMichael NordineMar 25, 2020
Jonathan Jakubowicz’s drama doesn’t add as much to the beyond-crowded World War II genre as it could despite the genuinely compelling true story on which it’s based. Read full review
60
Screen RantHannah HoolihanMar 26, 2020
Led by a charismatic performance from Jesse Eisenberg, Resistance is a harrowing story but often feels as if it bit off more than it could chew. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 26, 2020
Jakubowicz achieves maximum impact by keeping our eyes on the man in the invisible box, one trying to teach children that the power of art can literally be a saving grace. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMar 26, 2020
Eisenberg’s performance is left to affirm that art can truly happen anywhere, but when he’s offscreen it doesn’t seem to happen anywhere else. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 26, 2020
Eisenberg does an admirable job porting his typically nervous energy into Marceau, a man who’s not portrayed as a full-blooded hero so much as a sincere, if naive, nebbish constantly wrestling with his fears and doubts. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 24, 2020
When we’re meant to be moved, there’s a disconnect. And when we should be transfixed, something Marceau managed in mastering his art, we’re let down. Read full review
42
Original-CinLiam LaceyApr 2, 2020
If you have trepidation about the juxtaposition of “Holocaust orphans” against “mime,” be assured they’re justified. Venezuelan writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz’s wartime thriller is so ambitiously misjudged, it holds a bizarre fascination. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 25, 2020
Resistance is like a maudlin Robin Williams vehicle inorganically fused with a by-the-numbers wartime thriller. In place of showbiz clichés, there are tacky WWII-movie tropes. Read full review
40
EmpireElla KempJun 19, 2020
Resistance fails to commit to anything: too confused to honour its hero, too generic to shine a new light on a crucial moment in history. Somehow, such a remarkable story is here made forgettable. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 18, 2020
Eisenberg does an honest job with the role of Marceau, but it is a subdued performance. Marceau emerges as animatedly nerdy before the Nazis invade, but when the film has to show his heroism, Eisenberg plays him pretty straight. The result is a performance that could have been turned in by anyone. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMar 26, 2020
Resistance feels disjointed and dated. Read full review
25
The PlaylistWarren CantrellMar 24, 2020
Hampered by a character growth problem, tonal inconsistencies, shoddy mime work, and a collective French accent trainwreck, the film fumbles the few opportunities it does have at something better. Read full review
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