Wetlands
Strand Releasing | Release Date: September 5, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisSep 18, 2014
Wetlands, an in-your-face story about bodily fluids and the collateral damage of a family gone wrong, is crass, vulgar and brilliant. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleSep 11, 2014
Director and co-writer David Wnendt is after serious comedy here, a character study of psychic pain, wounds hereditary and self-inflicted, and body-conscious absurdity that treats the human condition with wry intelligence, not empty prurience. Read full review
100
New York PostSara StewartSep 3, 2014
Take note, Lars von Trier: This is how you do a truly funny, subversive movie about a woman’s obsession with the human body and sex. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubJenni MillerSep 3, 2014
Wetlands makes the internal external; the secret, scary bits of female anatomy are on display in a way that isn’t meant to be particularly titillating to the male gaze. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSep 4, 2014
The tone is breezy, bright and brash, vividly illuminated by Ms. Juri’s extraordinarily unprotected and utterly fearless performance. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniSep 12, 2014
Wetlands is one of the most daring, visually arresting, innovative, and imaginative examples of filmmaking to come out of Europe in recent memory. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKimber MyersSep 4, 2014
Wetlands is more than just a film that shares far more about anal fissures than you ever wanted to know; it’s a surprisingly sweet coming-of-age comedy brimming with punk-rock energy and an impressive performance from Swiss actress Carla Juri. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 13, 2014
Floridly explicit, gleefully disgusting and yet somehow kind of sweet, the film is a showcase for Carla Juri. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijAug 22, 2014
What makes the film so accessible despite its controversial subject matter is Wnendt’s total command of tone, which is never vulgar or intentionally out to shock. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennySep 5, 2014
Even though Wetlands is absolutely, brutally unrelenting in its depictions of bodily functions and searching adolescent sexuality, it’s also an inventively sharp, briskly edited, spectacularly-acted post-adolescent coming-of-age story. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 4, 2014
This no-bull spellbinder is allergic to sentiment. Unlike porn, Wetlands keeps its humanity intact. And if Oscar didn't have a stick up his ass, Juri would be a nominee for Best Actress. Yup, she's that good. Your move. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSep 4, 2014
For its general ludic obsession with all things generally thought of as disgusting, the German film Wetlands is stuck in the anal stage. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinSep 5, 2014
Women deserve their own gross-out movies, and, in Wetlands, the punk force is strong. If your taste runs thataway, you should see it in a theater with one eye on the audience — and hope that a few people will think they’re going to see a documentary about threatened ecosystems. Talk about all wet! Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick SchagerSep 2, 2014
Helen's extreme behavior is at once a reaction to, and rebellion against, her mother and father (and their separation), which, along with a captivating go-for-broke lead turn by Juri, lends the film a poignancy to help offset the juvenile shock-tactic impulses. Read full review
70
The DissolveScott TobiasSep 1, 2014
German director David Wnendt and his co-writer, Claus Falkenberg, are determined to package one teenager’s unhygienic coming-of-age into a slick, funny, accessible romantic comedy. They mostly pull it off. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasAug 22, 2014
Wetlands might have landed with the thud of empty shock value were Helen not such an innately engaging character, or Juri so commanding in the role. Read full review
69
Film.comAug 22, 2014
Juri’s performance makes it impossible to divert your eyes from the screen, no matter how much you might want to, and a brave film that eventually succumbs to convention is still braver than most. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 11, 2014
Wetlands has only a sketchy plot, based largely on Helen’s dreams, fantasies and childhood memories. It isn’t terribly clear where the movie — or its hedonistic heroine — is going, but getting there is one wild ride. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfSep 3, 2014
Dank with the effluvia of a proudly unhygienic, sex-obsessed German teen, this frenetic adaptation of Charlotte Roche’s notorious 2008 best-seller is a standing dare to anyone who thinks the movies have gotten too tame. Read full review
60
CineVueMassimo BenvegnùSep 3, 2014
Wetlands can be an unusually intriguing, funny and entertaining visual experience. Read full review
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