Shooting the Mafia
Cohen Media Group | Release Date: November 22, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 12, 2020
Her photographs are like very bad dreams and simply looking for any period of time at dead bodies is a very strange experience. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerNov 30, 2019
An affectionate portrait of a remarkable woman that loses its grip when it bites off more than it can chew. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comNick AllenNov 22, 2019
In the end, Shooting the Mafia is about recognizing Battaglia as a woman of immense bravery and unflappable individuality. She has seen a great deal of sadness in the world, and captured it in a way that combines art, journalism, and activism. “Shooting the Mafia” aptly conveys Battaglia's many layers, while exemplifying the power in not looking away. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 18, 2019
It takes guts to take on the mob in a place where its been tolerated for centuries. And sometimes the bravest of those in that fight aren’t in uniform. Some of them are still carrying a Pentax. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshNov 21, 2019
Longinotto’s film is a rollicking depiction of the wonderfully self-possessed Battaglia. Read full review
70
Screen DailyAllan HunterNov 20, 2019
Battaglia talks candidly as she picks over the pieces of a life that could easily stretch to more than one film. Read full review
70
Film ThreatBradley GibsonNov 20, 2019
The mafia murder images are stomach turning, viewers take note. Letizia talks about her life at great length and some of it is redundant, but she is always charming and inspirational, living as a strong, independent woman in a crushing patriarchy. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 18, 2019
Kim Longinotto is so eager to celebrate her hero that she also glides past thornier portions of Letizia Battaglia’s life. Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeNov 20, 2019
Not quite a fleshed-out personal study, nor fully a meditation on what Battaglia’s camera sees, this intriguing but frustrating film finally makes the case for letting the photographer’s pictures tell their story. Read full review
58
The PlaylistTed PillowNov 20, 2019
Shooting the Mafia is most fascinating when it uses Battaglia’s story, her reminiscences, and her unforgettable photographs, to show rather than tell the painful circumstances of Sicilian life under mob rule. Read full review
55
TheWrapSimon AbramsNov 22, 2019
Shooting the Mafia is, if nothing else, a decent introduction to Battaglia’s work, even if the rest of Loginotto’s primer doesn’t tell us much about who Battaglia is, or how to appreciate what she does. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisNov 29, 2019
It all gets a little unwieldy at times, but Shooting the Mafia is far from boring. We can’t take our eyes off it, just like a photo that’s out of focus, yet somehow remains arresting. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 25, 2019
Most gratifying — if also gruesome — are the many examples of Battaglia’s powerful photographs of Mafia victims. Although black-and-white, they are deeply disturbing, and it is easy to imagine that Battaglia found the work difficult. Imagination is necessary, because Battaglia herself doesn’t provide the deep introspection you might expect. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGlenn KennyNov 21, 2019
Idiosyncratic to the point of alienation. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesNov 20, 2019
Mildly informative but superficial, Shooting the Mafia is much less dynamic than its title. Read full review
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