65
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80EmpireAnna SmithEmpireAnna SmithA tough but very rewarding watch.
- 80TimeMary PolsTimeMary PolsThe director and his splendid cast assure that this tale about a strong little girl fighting to keep her family alive and together has both high art and a big heart, audience appeal and gut impact.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisA grave and quietly moving story about a South African girl of extraordinary character, does something that few painful dramas accomplish: It tells a tale of resilience without platitudes about the triumph of the human spirit or without false promises about an unclouded future.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangIt's an absorbing, vividly inhabited tale nonetheless, never exploiting its horrors but rather treating them as tough local realities.
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternThis is a modest film, and an affecting one.
- The ending, which offers a hint of relief, is unfiltered, frankly unbelievable melodrama, but something grimmer and more measured would be intolerable after everything that comes before.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe sincere director, Oliver Schmitz, injects too much movie into his movie; life (above all) would have been enough.
- 60MovielineMichelle OrangeMovielineMichelle OrangeThe scenes between the young actresses are the film's most compelling: Both first-timers, Manamela and Makanyane are possessed of extraordinary faces and plain attitudes.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterNatasha SenjanovicThe Hollywood ReporterNatasha SenjanovicIts schematic structure oversimplifies the drama, despite an interesting, mostly debut cast. It seems better suited for the small screen.
- 40Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonLife, Above All suggests that ignorance and stigmatization are a problem only in the village, not in the highest office of government.