Where Hands Touch
Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: September 14, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
ObserverRex ReedSep 13, 2018
A tale of trauma and survival, Where Hands Touch is grim, compelling stuff, but the tireless humanism of the two leading characters makes it undeniably moving, aided by the careful and empathetic guidance of British writer-director Amma Asante (Belle, A United Kingdom). Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesSep 11, 2018
Throughout, Asante raises questions about bravery, conscience and, most of all, identity. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 10, 2018
Despite moments that risk subverting the vile treachery of Nazis in a bid to humanize this would-be soldier underneath his uniform, Asante refuses to erase the complexity of the situation at hand. Read full review
60
Screen DailyAllan HunterSep 11, 2018
One of the issues with Where Hands Touch is that whilst some of the details and specifics feel fresh, the drama often feels desperately hackneyed. Read full review
60
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanSep 10, 2018
The weight of history is a heavy burden for one film to carry, especially when freighted still further by contemporary parallels. Ultimately, Leyna is as much a symbol as a fully-drawn character, one young girl representing multitudes. Nevertheless, those who find their way to her essential story will come away not only enlightened, but undeniably touched. Read full review
58
The PlaylistJoe BlessingSep 11, 2018
Every character must negotiate their own boundaries while trying to hold on to what, and whom, they love, and the detailed portrait of that struggle saves the movie from its second half mistakes. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflySep 10, 2018
While Where Hands Touch demonstrates confident filmmaking from a technical standpoint, Asante’s plot choices around the ambiguous development of Lutz feel irresponsible, especially during these risky political times that uncompromisingly demand us to be the opposite. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 10, 2019
The romantic relationship with the “good Nazi” is a little too glib (quite as it was in the film version of Suite Française) and the camp scenes have a misjudged sheen of romanticism and come perilously close to the bad-taste border. But Stenberg’s performance is good. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKimber MyersSep 13, 2018
Asante usually excels at sharing stories audiences haven’t seen before, so it’s unfortunate that this one feels so dully familiar. Read full review
40
VarietyScott TobiasSep 11, 2018
Amandla Stenberg carries the magnetism she brought to her breakthrough role in the YA romance “Everything, Everything,” but she’s betrayed by a stilted rendering of a rarely illuminated piece of history. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 10, 2018
It’s a film entirely devoid of subtlety yet one that also fails to provide the grand emotion it yearns to deliver, despite the use of a sledgehammer. Read full review
30
The New York TimesGlenn KennySep 13, 2018
The stridently theatricalized violence is horrific only because it’s so abjectly manipulative. By the end of the movie, my jaw felt unhinged from dropping so often. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 19, 2018
Get past the “You learn something every day” aspect of writer-director Amma Asante’s follow-up to “Belle” and “A United Kingdom,” and the picture grates and annoys and falls to pieces, and not quietly. It’s so wrong. And there’s so much of it. Read full review
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