The Year of the Everlasting Storm
Neon | Release Date: September 3, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireRobert DanielsSep 3, 2021
The seven filmmakers at the center of “The Year of the Everlasting Storm” do give a slash of cathartic release, a dash of humor and a large batch of necessary pathos to make the world feel a little less lonely, a little less small. Read full review
90
The New YorkerRichard BrodySep 3, 2021
The films range widely in form—documentary, fiction, hybrid, and unclassifiable—as well as in tone, subject, style, and, for that matter, in originality and inspiration. Even the most ordinary of them is worth seeing, and the best of them, brevity notwithstanding, are among the most powerful films of the year. Read full review
81
TheWrapSteve PondAug 25, 2021
Everlasting Storm is an anthology film that is as uneven as most anthology films, but one that offers a disquieting and essential snapshot of the time from which we hope we’re emerging. Like the lockdown itself, it can be a slog and it can be a kick. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonAug 31, 2021
Consisting of three non-fiction segments and four narrative instalments, the film is refreshing in its understated modesty. If anything, the shorter running time seems to energise the directors, who tell miniature stories with a minimum of fuss but careful attention to the emotional fallout of life under quarantine. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 31, 2021
Here we have seven escape routes, each one reconnecting us to a world inevitably transformed by the pandemic — a world where art lives on. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennySep 3, 2021
The Year of the Everlasting Storm is definitely a noteworthy achievement in anti-escapism, which the current cinema could certainly always use more of. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloSep 2, 2021
There are no outright disasters and two superlative shorts, one of which may well turn out to be this year’s single greatest cinematic achievement. Even if the rest are mostly forgettable, that batting average still qualifies as success in this notoriously erratic mini-genre. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJake ColeAug 29, 2021
These shorts capture everything from how fear of the unknown can rewire relationships to the natural world exerts its pull on us all. Read full review
75
The PlaylistCharles BramescoAug 25, 2021
The thread connecting the finest shorts — Panahi, Poitras, and Joe — is adaptation, the willingness to alter form to match the challenge at hand. Those able to refit their already-developed technique to a new set of standards don’t just get the best results. In their undaunted, humble determination to continue, they embody the present zeitgeist with more fidelity than a thousand post-mortems. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRoxana HashidiSep 11, 2021
By cycling through humor, joy, sentimentality and surrealism, The Year of the Everlasting Storm reminds viewers of the myriad possibilities of daily life. The film’s poignancy comes from its confirmation that even in tumultuous times, our senses of wonder, love and loyalty remain integral to the human experience. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungAug 31, 2021
Its bow in Cannes in the Special Screenings sidebar is amply justified by two whimsical exercises in art house cinema directed by Jafar Panahi and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The other tales are quirky but mixed in impact. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerSep 9, 2021
It’s almost like a “what I did on my vacation” essay assignment, only with an A-list of arthouse directors, and so it inevitably feels disjointed, switching from drama to tone poem to documentary to video diary. Read full review
67
The Film StageLuke HicksJul 21, 2021
If The Year of the Everlasting Storm isn’t exempt from the typical disjointedness of portmanteau films, it yields more coherency than its kin. With so many disparate works included, the experience becomes an intriguing exercise in cinematographic range and creative perspectives on the most globally unifying trauma in human history. Read full review
63
Washington PostPat PaduaSep 8, 2021
The Year of the Everlasting Storm doesn’t end with catharsis, but even insects may have something to teach humanity: to endure the best way we can, however minuscule we may feel in the face of an incomprehensible world. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneySep 2, 2021
Poitras includes screenshots, Zoom sessions, surveillance footage, even voice mails. The overall effect is both hypnotic and deeply unsettling, like watching a real-life William Gibson novel. Read full review
40
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergSep 2, 2021
The omnibus film The Year of the Everlasting Storm assembles pandemic-made shorts from around the globe. But with just two decent segments out of seven, this anthology uncannily replicates the sensation of feeling trapped. Read full review
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