74
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The Film StageMichael SnydelThe Film StageMichael SnydelIt’s a film that’s feels nearly otherworldly in its isolation.
- 88Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneThe landscape seems to push the characters away at the same time that it anchors them into place, suggesting that elsewhere is a promise that only dreams can keep.
- A film of uncommon restraint and considerable compassion. It presents a seemingly helpless situation and focuses on the tiny, fleeting moments of regret, resentment, reconciliation, hope, loyalty and love within and between these characters.
- 80Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganArcevedo is certainly as preoccupied with image as he is content and it is perhaps the individual frames and tableaux which linger on past this resolutely-downbeat, emblematic story.
- 75The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayLand And Shade is a slow-paced art-film, where the static shots are held at length and the characters pause between lines of dialogue, to give viewers plenty of chances to register the mood, look, feel, and significance of everything Acevedo shows.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeWhile mirthless in the extreme, Cesar Acevedo’s deliberately paced and distant-feeling debut works its way under audiences’ skin, weaving a haunting allegory through painterly compositions.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerAcevedo deserves credit for crafting something so audacious – along with the photography, the sound design by Felipe Rayo is also boldly conceived – though there are moments when the style really dominates the subject matter, in a film that’s a pleasure to watch but not always one to follow.
- 70Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineYou might not want to live here, but the imagery makes for a nice postcard.
- 67The PlaylistGary GarrisonThe PlaylistGary GarrisonThis lack of visual energy, combined with the choice to forgo a score, leaves little to buoy the moments needed to propel the film toward its inevitable close. But where Land And Shade shines is in its outrage, and the heartbroken fury at the center of the film.
- 60The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergIn Land and Shade, the setting holds more interest than the plot: a fable-like, elemental story that sketches its characters too faintly to develop much power.