The Guardians
Pathé | Release Date: May 4, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 16, 2018
The performances are extraordinary, as they often are in Beauvois’ films, with Baye a study in quiet suffering and Bry wonderfully enigmatic — seemingly simple, but hinting at a soul capable of expansion and adaptation. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 10, 2018
The Guardians, though, is special in a new way. Imagine devoting several years, as Mr. Beauvois did, to making a reflective, bucolic feature that is organized around the themes of community and evolving culture. It’s all too subtle for words, but perfect for moving pictures. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMay 9, 2018
The Guardians is an intimate French epic, elegantly made and quietly emotional, a family story filled with characters whose lives we sink into, feeling the hope, the sadness, the sorrow and the joy right along with those on the screen. Read full review
90
Village VoiceSimon AbramsMay 3, 2018
Unassumingly powerful details make The Guardians one of the year’s most affecting love stories. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansAug 20, 2018
There are two special moments in the film. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 15, 2018
The beauty and the pathos of the film are vivid in every frame. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeMay 4, 2018
Inspired by prize-winning French author Ernest Pérochon’s 1924 novel, director Xavier Beauvois’ emotionally devastating adaptation — which some may find as arduous as the wartime chapter it depicts — dispenses with a fair amount of the suffering to be found in the book, forgoing the contemporary tendency toward gritty, handheld realism in favor of a more timeless, almost painterly aesthetic. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 3, 2018
Meditative in its pacing, painterly in composition, quietly devastating in its low-key drama, the latest film from Xavier Beauvois shares some of the slow-burning potency of his acclaimed study of religious faith, Of Gods And Men. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 3, 2018
It proves that Beauvois still masters his uniquely classical brand of filmmaking, coaxing strong performances out of veteran Nathalie Baye and newbie Iris Bry, who makes an impressive screen debut. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 3, 2018
The Guardians is a historical drama that doesn’t lose itself in decorative period detail, a beautifully photographed chronicle of rural existence that refrains from picturesque sentimentality and grinding misery, the usual modes for this kind of film. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 20, 2018
This handsomely staged production plays like a soothingly thoughtful balm. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireMay 4, 2018
Part of the allure of The Guardians comes from the casting: The radiant, real-life mother and daughter Baye and Smet play mother and daughter Hortense and Solange. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonApr 30, 2018
The film captures the pictorial beauty of old-fashioned farm life, but director Xavier Beauvois is careful not to romanticize hard labor for its own sake. Read full review
60
CineVueMaximilian Von ThunAug 15, 2018
The Guardians is a subtle, beautifully made and quietly feminist work about the fortitude of women during wartime. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMay 1, 2018
What starts out as a testament to female fortitude, reminding us that sacrifices were also made on the home front, gradually turns into high-toned soap opera. Read full review
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