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Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale

EMAILPRINTIFC Films

Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale reviews
63
5.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 5 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by: David Shapiro
Laurie Gwen Shapiro

Directed by: David Shapiro
Laurie Gwen Shapiro

Release Date:
Theatrical: March 16, 2001
DVD: October 29, 2002

Running Time: 90 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for depiction of mature thematic material

Starring Tobias Schneebaum, Norman Mailer, Charlie Rose, Mike Douglas, and Aipit

Tells the amazing story of 78-year old Tobias Schneebaum, one of the most charming, enigmatic and perplexing men ever captured on screen. A seemingly mild-mannered elderly Jewish New Yorker, Tobias is actually one of the most fearless adventurers of our time. (Next Wave Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

The film underscores the paradox in this man's life: the split between the mild-mannered New Yorker and the fearless vagabond who joined an Arakmbut hunting raid.

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91

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

As compelling as it is bizarre.

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88

Boston Globe Staff (Not credited)

Ynever seen a documentary quite like this one, and aren't likely to again.

88

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

A remarkable film about a remarkable man who's lived the kind of life usually reserved for adventure novels and pulp fiction.

80

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

He (Tobias) had a life, however, that was way off the charts in its unpredictability, and sharing it with him is fascinating.

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80

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

For him (Schneebaum) it's a journey of stunning rediscovery. For us it's the discovery of a brave soul.

80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Meanders, dawdles, doubles back on itself but finally gets us somewhere fascinating and worthwhile.

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75

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Sometimes disturbing but consistently fascinating.

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75

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Story of Tobias Schneebaum, a gay New York artist famous for living with, sleeping with - and, gulp, eating with - cannibals in New Guinea.

75

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A fascinating story.

75

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

As an exploration of a man who really did take the road less traveled, the film is fascinating.

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The Shapiros wisely focus on the mystery of this man, who was spectacularly ill-prepared for both of his jungle journeys, and apparently walked away from civilization prepared to rely on the kindness of strangers.

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63

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

It's worth seeing simply to make the acquaintance of Tobias, a really extraordinary old guy.

60

The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder

An engaging and colorful but somewhat overbalanced documentary.

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60

LA Weekly Steven Mikulan

The Shapiros, whose film is intercut with hilarious clips from vintage TV interviews with Mike Douglas and Charlie Rose, ultimately reveal a frail but mentally robust old man.

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60

TV Guide Ken Fox

Fascinating, if slightly unfocused, film.

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50

Washington Post Eve Zibart

Provides a fascinating glimpse of how the human spirit struggles.

50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A fairly depressing experience.

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50

Film.com Ernest Hardy

As he explains the male-male relationships and the absence of stigma or judgment, the film soars.

50

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The obvious thing is to say that Keep the River on Your Right has unfortunately bitten off more than it can chew -- but not more than we can digest.

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40

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Gay jungle sex (gasp!), gone-native intellectuals, tribal rituals (gulp!), cannibalism (none of which the film shows, by the way) -- it sounds like a "Weekly World News" front page, not the thematic fodder of a highbrow non-fiction film.

40

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Schneebaum is a great subject; the film doesn't quite make the most of him.

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20

New Times (L.A.) Bill Gallo

There's little evidence to suggest Schneebaum was one of the great explorers of the 20th century, or even that he was particularly curious.

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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