X
  • 2017
  • Argot Pictures
  • 1 h 33 m
  • 2017
  • Argot Pictures
  • 1 h 33 m

Summary In the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski – great-grandmother, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor – runs the tailor shop she’s owned for more than 30 years. But when she’s served an eviction notice, the specter of retirement prompts Sonia to resist her harrowing past as a refugee and witness to genocid...

Directed By: Todd Soliday, Leah Warshawski

Written By: Eric Frith

  • 2017
  • Argot Pictures
  • 1 h 33 m
  • 2017
  • Argot Pictures
  • 1 h 33 m

Big Sonia

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
71
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary In the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski – great-grandmother, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor – runs the tailor shop she’s owned for more than 30 years. But when she’s served an eviction notice, the specter of retirement prompts Sonia to resist her harrowing past as a refugee and witness to genocid...

Directed By: Todd Soliday, Leah Warshawski

Written By: Eric Frith

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
71
88% Positive
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
71
88% Positive
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Feb 8, 2018
Filmed with great respect and palpable love for its subject, Big Sonia is one of those documentaries that seems to bring its own light — just like the woman at its center.
By Moira Macdonald FULL REVIEW
80
Nov 16, 2017
Key to the strength of Big Sonia is its refusal to give in to easy bromides. Its use of animation to illustrate Sonia’s memories spins off her own artful drawings in a way that amps the sense of unspeakable horror rather than sugarcoating it.
By Sheri Linden FULL REVIEW
80
Nov 16, 2017
The loose structure is bound by a thread of motherhood. Sonia’s children, two daughters and a son, are lively, intelligent, and deeply affected by their parents’ trauma.
By Chris Packham FULL REVIEW
75
Nov 8, 2017
The animation is the one novel element to this, a familiar sort of film on a most familiar subject. But the movie lets its subject — Sonia — be its strength, and if you’ve ever had the privilege of meeting a survivor willing to talk about what they experienced, you know how smart that decision was.
By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW
70
Dec 7, 2017
Seeing Sonia confidently gripping the leopard print-covered steering wheel of her late model Oldsmobile and getting on with her day serves as a potent and especially timely lesson about living a compassionate, vibrant life that doesn’t have any room for hatred and bitterness.
By Michael Rechtshaffen FULL REVIEW
63
Dec 8, 2017
Feeling like a director’s cut that would play best for people who already know her, Big Sonia is a feature that could have very likely made a deeper impact with the succinctness of a short film.
By Nick Allen FULL REVIEW
50
Nov 16, 2017
Sonia is a powerful subject, but Big Sonia brings little perspective to her story.
By Teo Bugbee FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Inflatable Film, True Productions, KC Film Office
Release Date Nov 17, 2017
Duration 1 h 33 m
Genres
Tagline Survivor. Grandmother. Diva.
Website https://www.facebook.com/bigsoniamovie
View All Details

Awards

Napa Valley Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Cleveland International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Seattle Jewish Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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