52
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerFerlinghetti’s home-brewed brand of anarchism is weirdly as American as apple pie.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. Musetto‘A brave man and a brave poet.” That’s Bob Dylan talking about Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet, painter, publisher, anarchist, civil libertarian — in this lively documentary by Christopher Felver.
- As big a bouquet as the film is to Mr. Ferlinghetti, it is also a mash note to City Lights, a cultural touchstone and North Beach landmark.
- 40Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfChristopher Felver, while an inspired photographer, is not the director for the job; he dutifully ticks off Ferlinghetti’s major achievements — such as the founding of North Beach’s literary mecca, City Lights — yet never imbues his life with anything more than lefty zeal.
- 40Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlChristopher Felver's stumbling hagiography Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder does no wrong by its celebrated subject-- but it never illuminates him, either.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSadly, the film gets mired in traditionalism, something the man himself always railed against. But worth a look for seeing intellectual bravery (still) at work.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckConsidering the importance of the still active 93-year-old poet’s art and social activism, the film seems slight and discursive, more of an introduction than a definitive portrait.
- 38Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenChristopher Felver is too reverent to properly convey the invigoratingly profane, angry messiness of the sense of community that Lawrence Ferlinghetti and his peers too briefly brought to life.