White Material

IFC Films | Release Date: November 19, 2010

6.6	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

jeremypJun 27, 2011

This is a pretty asinine movie.The usually reliable Huppert lets herself get put in a movie that is full of pretentious angst ridden idiocy. Huppert does well enough as an obsessive coffee plantation owner who insists on rounding up localsThis is a pretty asinine movie.The usually reliable Huppert lets herself get put in a movie that is full of pretentious angst ridden idiocy. Huppert does well enough as an obsessive coffee plantation owner who insists on rounding up locals for labor (after everyone has fled) in spite of being smack in the midst of a murederous civil war, somewhere in a former French African colony. To her getting in the harvest trumps saving lives. Her poor evolutionary strategy is passed on to her son, in spades. I can't even get into this ridiculous character, but in the end he shaves off his hair and joins the rebels, and mercifully gets smoked to death. It's all mean to be a metaphor for self centered colonialism, but it's so full of silly white folk pursuing their own stupidity that it's a wonder that the French colonies weren't a bust after on year.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

All this user's reviews

LynJul 2, 2011

"You're insane," someone says to Isabel Huppert's character. Yes, but so is everyone else in this frustrating movie -- insanely menacing, insanely violent, or insanely clueless. I enjoyed the dusty atmospherics of the African setting, and the"You're insane," someone says to Isabel Huppert's character. Yes, but so is everyone else in this frustrating movie -- insanely menacing, insanely violent, or insanely clueless. I enjoyed the dusty atmospherics of the African setting, and the buildup of tension was well-done. But it's hard to take the lead character seriously when she's so blind about everything from the threatening politics of her situation to what's happening with her own son. Couldn't help but think of a missionary family of my acquaintance, whose teenage son perceptively worked out a plan to cope/escape from his boarding school, should things blow up in the part of Africa where they were stationed. By contrast with that kid, Huppert's character seems imperceptive to the point of stupidity.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

JLuis_001Sep 30, 2022

Enigmatic and disconcerting, but also haunting and hypnotic, sustained by a magnificent performance from Isabelle Huppert.

This is a film that takes a bit of work to get into. This happens as the motivations of its main character are beingEnigmatic and disconcerting, but also haunting and hypnotic, sustained by a magnificent performance from Isabelle Huppert.

This is a film that takes a bit of work to get into. This happens as the motivations of its main character are being established and explained, but when everything starts to flow at a better pace, it stays that way until the end.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews