Utama
Kino Lorber | Release Date: November 4, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 29, 2022
[A] sublime, quietly elegiac feature debut. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyNov 4, 2022
Utama sounds a warning even as it casts a spell, and the spell is one of life and death and eternal returns and never-ending struggles, and the rest we can try to take when the work is done for the day. Read full review
83
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 29, 2022
Admittedly, Utama is a simple story, but one that packs an emotional punch without endless exposition or symbolism. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonDec 19, 2022
An understated but spectacularly mounted drama. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlex SavelievNov 22, 2022
An elegiac, minimalist fable, Utama is about many things: global warming, survival, our connections to each other, our priorities. It’s the silences that propel the narrative forward, the wide-open spaces that sear themselves into the mind. But hope prevails. Read full review
80
Screen RantNadir SamaraNov 11, 2022
No part of Utama feels fabricated. The costumes are a part of the environment; the camera work is as simple as it could be, but what is in front of the camera is elevated by a lovely stillness. Alvarez turns Bolivia into a series of portraits and Grisi is the perfect conduit to tell such a specific tale of love and life. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid HughesNov 2, 2022
It’s an astonishingly assured and emotionally engrossing debut. Grisi’s background as an award-winning photographer is evident in the composition of every shot, almost any one of which could hang on the wall of a gallery wall. Yet his narrative focus is always on Virginio and Sisa, whose expressions of intimacy and love are largely non-verbal yet deeply felt. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJan 29, 2022
Utama is very much a pessimistic film, never shying away from the realities faced by those who still inhabit the highlands of Bolivia. And yet it’s also convincingly, and sometimes movingly, optimistic. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeJan 29, 2022
Through the love story at the heart of this visually arresting feature debut, Utama offers the audience a relatable connection with a way of life which is on the verge of extinction. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 15, 2025
Grisi has made a simple parable for life on Earth and the consequences the most remote people face from climate change, and a film that’s worth rooting for as Utama is Bolivia’s submission for this year’s Best International Feature competition at the Oscars. Read full review
75
TheWrapNov 4, 2022
It is a spare and yet unsparing film, and a bold artistic statement from an emerging filmmaker. Read full review
75
IndieWireCarlos AguilarJan 29, 2022
For all its otherworldly beauty, “Utama” could benefit from slightly more robust dramatic beats to complement the hyper-sensorial experience that imbues in the spectator, especially in addressing the displacement of Indigenous communities across the Americas and beyond. Read full review
67
The Film StageDavid KatzFeb 14, 2022
Utama is a slow-motion look at how communities can falter, how rich heritage can be lost—to indifference from governments as well as a climate crisis that will decimate their way of life. If only it weren’t so gentle in its reminder. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineClayton DillardOct 30, 2022
Stock story beats of generational dispute run throughout Utama, existing mainly to show off the widescreen possibilities of the Scope frame. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeNov 23, 2022
It’s a gentle and superbly shot film. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisNov 3, 2022
While climate change shadows every anxious discussion here, it also remains at a safe remove, a vague threat embedded in an aesthetically soothing package and gently salted with tears. Read full review
More From This Movie

74 Critic Reviews

6.2 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 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL