Will-o'-the-Wisp
Strand Releasing | Release Date: May 26, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
0
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarJun 7, 2023
Like the fiery folklore entity that lends it its name, Will-o’-the-Wisp burns bright with idiosyncratic ambition. Few cineastes out there are making deliciously defiant art like Rodrigues, and this entry in his catalog is a concentrated shot of his sardonic mastery. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterJun 7, 2023
Served up with lashings of homoeroticism, Bunuelian satire, a gay love story and an athletic dance number, its uncompromising nature will delight fans of the visionary filmmaker. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJun 7, 2023
While the cast’s dancing is very good, on the whole, the acting suggests less training. But that fits the semi-professional vibe even better, creating a work that feels light, quick and quite dirty in every sense. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeJun 7, 2023
Rampantly horny and unapologetically silly, Will-o’-the-Wisp appeals to more primal desires and thought processes in its audience, even as it repurposes a Greta Thunberg speech or references the racially charged work of 18th-century Portuguese painter José Conrado Roza. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonMay 25, 2023
Will-o’-the-Wisp, an off-balance provocation from the Portuguese titillater João Pedro Rodrigues, is a prank in fancy dress, a plastic boutonniere that squirts battery acid. The joke is on everyone, particularly the powerful and those holding out hope that the powerful will save the planet. Read full review
67
The Film StageEthan VestbyMay 4, 2023
It’s hard not to wish the film were a little longer and could push its musical element harder. It doesn’t quite erupt into a rapturous extravaganza—seemingly by design, as a twinge of defeat emerges when the film makes a hard ellipsis back to the future in its final minutes. But in this mad dash of relevancy, maybe a bit of half baked-ness just comes with the territory Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonJun 29, 2023
Will-o’-the-Wisp, a flight of fancy from Portuguese provocateur João Pedro Rodrigues, has a few ideas, a fun little musical sequence and quite a bit of eye candy. But it seems like a series of tonally different short films mashed together — an art installation rather than a movie. Read full review
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