The Holy Land
CAVU Releasing | Release Date: July 11, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
One of its great strengths lies in its surprising universality. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Masterly coming-of-age drama. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The acting and directing are uneven, but many scenes have strong emotional and political power. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
In the psychologically scarred world of The Holy Land, sex and religion, love and hate, survival and despair all ricochet around, waiting to explode. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The story's resolution isn't very satisfying, but I considered most of this movie time well spent. Read full review
70
VarietyJon Matsumoto
Offers an occasionally fascinating look at the complex social, religious and political dynamics that help define the sacred city of Jerusalem. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
A former yeshiva student himself, Gorlin turns this tale of political intrigue and the search for divinity into an act of liberation -- if not outright defiance. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
This broadly acted first feature is exceedingly direct, appropriately sordid, and at times, almost delicate. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
The film, like the beleaguered country it depicts, has a raw, neurotic, brawling yet tender vitality. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The acting of the main cast is uniformly nuanced, and, except for some bad makeup on Mendy's father, the film never looks as low-budget as it must have been. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
For all the film's flaws, it has a caustic, nondenominational view of apocalypses to come. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The film is really a timely critique of the ongoing insanity that has engulfed Israeli life. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A barbed reflection on the great divide between secular and ultra-Orthodox Judaism in Israeli culture. But its digressive screenplay lacks focus and momentum and is too oblique to connect many of the dots between its characters and their behavior. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Gorlin's fiction, based loosely on his own life, must be better than that of "Frontline." And it's not. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It has the awkwardness that characterizes many first features and, as befits a culture that does not always prize refinement, some of its performances and situations are not as subtle as they should be. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
Serious and absurd (mostly, it's a drama) but never finds a good rhythm. The movie flounders in a way that calls too much attention to itself -- and is hurt by jarring and unbelievable plot twists. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Fails to capture the anguish and struggles of an ultra-Orthodox Jew adapting to a more secular world as did Amos Gitai's Kadosh, a film this one sometimes brings to mind. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
This film might've worked better as a comedy. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Although the narrative hiccups in The Holy Land can be chalked up to the mistakes of a beginning filmmaker, they are not disruptive enough to diminish the film’s realistic impact. Read full review
30
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Small, amateurish Israeli feature. Read full review
25
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The film's violent finale comes out of nowhere and will leave bewildered viewers wondering if they might have dozed off for a reel or two. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

7.5 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL