Santoalla
Journeyman Pictures | Release Date: July 19, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyJessica KiangJul 26, 2017
While Santoalla is a small story, its poignancy resonates, like an echo finding its way through the peaks and valleys of this windswept, eternal landscape. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireJul 20, 2017
A documentary that had this reviewer wondering if it was a real or faux doc until the very end. Turns out it’s real, but the suspicion that it might be otherwise is a tribute both to the debuting filmmakers’ skills in shaping their story and that story’s innate dramatic power. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 27, 2017
It focuses on how the best intentions toward humanity are not enough if an ability to actually get along with fellow human beings is not part of the mix. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJul 19, 2017
Becker and Mehrer’s film is more about place and silence than it is about tension or psychology. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungJul 19, 2017
Santoalla isn't without its longueurs, even at 83 minutes, and can veer into the repetitive at times. But it scores in its judicious combination of archival materials (some of it shot by camcorder-fan Verfondern himself) with the directors' own interview-based footage, taking that most ancient of squabbles — a feud between farmers — and turning it into a poignant elegy for tragically lost opportunities. Read full review
70
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJul 19, 2017
Santoalla ends with the mystery solved. The threads that remain hanging imbue this peculiar story of paradise lost with a tragic resonance. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJul 3, 2017
Andrew Becker and Daniel Mehrer get close to their subjects only to retreat when things get truly dangerous. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJul 18, 2017
A story is only as interesting as what can be drawn from it, and Becker and Mehrer seem reluctant to draw too much, perhaps realizing the confines they have to work within; even at a scant 83 minutes, the movie feels over-stretched. Read full review
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