76
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The PlaylistAndrew BundyThe PlaylistAndrew BundyUlman’s black and white freshman feature is an absurdly and assuredly packed jack-in-the-box that’s short, sweet, and, incidentally, a quirky sharp, vainglorious commentary on these post-crisis, Robinhood Redditor times.
- 88Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonAmalia Ulman’s film is a bittersweet comedy of human behavior observed with a relaxed yet intently focused eye.
- 83Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganPaste MagazineNatalia KeoganThe frequently complicated relationship between mother and daughter has fostered plenty of cinematic investigation, but El Planeta easily distinguishes itself as a uniquely meta and universal addition to the canon.
- 80VarietyGuy LodgeVarietyGuy LodgeThere’s a fine, even invisible, line between dignity and denial in “El Planeta,” a fine-grained portrait of everyday poverty amid the lingering wreckage of the global financial crisis. Yet this pithy, distinctive debut feature from artist-turned-filmmaker Amalia Ulman eschews kitchen-sink realism for a deadpan vein of black comedy somewhere on the very wide spectrum between Lena Dunham and early Pedro Almodóvar.
- 75The Film StageMatt CipollaThe Film StageMatt CipollaAs a fully-fledged statement, El Planeta wavers about as much as it succeeds. As observational comedy with a bit of bite, it signals good things for Amalia Ulman as a filmmaker.
- 75RogerEbert.comChristy LemireRogerEbert.comChristy LemireA mother-daughter bond shines through stark black-and-white cinematography and surreal humor in El Planeta.
- 70Film ThreatLorry KiktaFilm ThreatLorry KiktaThe movie is a shared experience between a mother and daughter that could tread into the undeniably cheesy or depressing territory but has a tattered joy to it. It’s a low-budget slice of life, which we don’t see too many of these days.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe plotting is haphazard and laced with meandering detours that don't always pay off, but there's a distinctive voice in the deadpan humor and poignancy in the story's collision of aspirational self-delusion with blithe resignation.
- 70The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeThis is a dry comedy that elicits amused recognition rather than belly laughs, and Ulman, as a first-time feature director, makes canny decisions to set a wry tone.