The Delinquents
MUBI | Release Date: October 18, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 30, 2023
From unsettled beginning to wondrously open-hearted finale, The Delinquents is wise enough not to offer clear or easy answers, beyond its certainty that getting lost is the only way to be found. Read full review
100
Original-CinChris KnightOct 26, 2023
It’s an oddly funny journey, punctuated by some deliciously inventive camerawork (including the longest dissolve I’ve ever seen), a jazz-inflected score, and a treasured piece of vinyl that will have you searching out ’70s Argentine rock/blues band Pappo’s Blues. Read full review
100
VarietyJessica KiangMay 24, 2023
Like its characters, Moreno’s banally surreal, madly sensible, big-little movie eschews the safe old daily grind in favor of the perilous unknown, and so, in a uniquely pleasurable way, reminds us that we too have options: Choose work, or choose the whole wide, weird world instead. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 22, 2023
This is a deadpan comedy which strides off down its own confident, eccentric path, and actually the whole heist trope is subverted from the outset by the purely un-tense way the robbery is shown. Read full review
91
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMay 26, 2023
It’s a cool film and never less than interesting, even as it meanders a bit too sleepily toward its final denouement. Read full review
91
The PlaylistCarlos AguilarMay 22, 2023
Writer-director Rodrigo Moreno methodically unfurls a genius tragicomedy on the elusive nature of freedom: an idealized state in which, in theory, one does as one pleases at all times. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 22, 2023
Three hours long and divided into two parts, it starts off as a leisurely, shaggy dog crime story, with what’s probably one of the most laid-back bank robberies in film history. But then it digresses, deepens and complexifies, creating new mysteries out of old ones, and love affairs out of the thin air. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiNov 9, 2023
Effortlessly charming and more than a little generous with its asides, The Delinquents is a film that lays out surprises and delights like a lavish feast – although it’s no surprise for those who’ve been paying attention. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMay 22, 2023
While The Delinquents was pointedly made to provoke active viewing and push back against the algorithmic storytelling that has choked the life out of modern cinema, its airiness and emergent sense of romance make it a delightful place to get lost for a while. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 25, 2024
It’s a teasing exploration of the cost of freedom and of the dualities of life. Read full review
80
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsMar 22, 2024
One thing to emphasise is that this is a very funny film, yet the humour doesn’t ever come from jokes or contrived set-ups. It’s more a sense of looming realisation that this caper – explained and justified over a single pint in a pub – is even more flawed that we ever might have imagined. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 22, 2024
The quietly convincing leads Elías and Bigliardi occupy very different points on the deadpan spectrum. The denouement isn’t entirely satisfactory, but with a journey this epic, who cares about the destination? Read full review
80
ColliderChase HutchinsonDec 16, 2023
It gradually starts to shift into something more comprehensively striking and somber the longer you sit with it. Read full review
80
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 23, 2023
Moreno avoids putting too fine a point on just why he’s playing around with such matters of multiplicity. His film is both a provocation and a shrug – make of it what you will. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesOct 19, 2023
the narrative, despite its crime-drama trappings, ends up as an ambling, affecting, sometimes funny exploration of what it means to live freely in the modern world. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 19, 2023
The Delinquents works its magic on us the way that the promise of freedom works on its characters. It’s a vision of a life unlived — as impossible as it is intoxicating. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 22, 2023
It is a fairly familiar crime thriller setup, yet this playful, effortlessly engrossing picture from Rodrigo Moreno takes a series of deliciously confounding turns. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineRory DohertyOct 12, 2023
Like the best Argentine cinema, Moreno merges perceptive but mundane psychology with prickling social critique, and even though The Delinquents’ thematic clarity borders on obvious during its 189 minutes, Moreno demonstrates such command over his characters and actors that The Delinquents remains calmly compelling. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comJourdain SearlesOct 18, 2023
With beautiful cinematography and quiet, contemplative performances, there’s no denying how captivating The Delinquents is at the outset. But as the film progresses, it seems to lose sight of itself. Even with a runtime that exceeds three hours, the ideas and characters explored in The Delinquents are incomplete. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergOct 19, 2023
The Delinquents wants to live modestly. It’s less concerned with satisfying the expectations of its genre than in finding waggish ways to deviate from them. To the film’s thinking, narrative is only a construct. Read full review
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