The Best and Worst Films at SXSW 2017
and Keith Kimbell, Metacritic Film Editor – March 19, 2017
The 2017 edition of South by Southwest wrapped up its film program last night, and the 10 days of premieres produced some welcome hits (with five films scoring 81 or higher) as well as some surprising misses.
Below, our editors have picked out the most notable films debuting at the festival, and sampled the critical consensus for each one. You can also find bonus reviews for a handful of television shows that premiered at SXSW (though not the highly anticipated upcoming series American Gods, since Starz has embargoed reviews until April 17th).
Director Nanfu Wang’s excellent follow-up to her award-winning documentary Hooligan Sparrow chronicles her relationship with Dylan, a young drifter she meets on her first trip to Florida. Filmed over four years, the film “unravels his mystery like a slacker detective story,” according to Variety’s Owen Gleiberman and “offers further evidence of this young director’s investigative energy and eye for cinematic poetry without the slightest preciousness,” writes Sheri Linden of THR.