Life, Above All
Life, Above All Image
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Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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  • Summary: Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee. Sensing that the gossip stems from prejudice and superstition, Chanda leaves home and school in search of her mother and the truth. (Sony Picture Classics)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Aug 31, 2011
    100
    The film's ending is improbably upbeat: Magic realism, in a sense. It works as a deliverance. Dennis Foon's screenplay is based on the novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Canadian writer Allan Stratton. It is a parable with Biblical undertones, recalling "Cry, the Beloved Country."
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    Sep 1, 2011
    80
    Director Oliver Schmitz is particularly attentive to the superstition and ingrained sexism that make life miserable for these people, though he also seems to view women as the country's best hope.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Jul 15, 2011
    60
    Director Oliver Schmitz's rhythms take a while to ease into, and admittedly, there is never a bright moment.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Ilya Tovbis
    Jul 19, 2011
    38
    By the time the narrative winds toward its key revelation, even the most earnest viewer is numbed and emotionally desensitized by the unfathomable bleakness already overcrowding the screen.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Sage11
    8
    Life above all is a befitting title for this film. A parable on the value of human life, where prejudices continue to out weigh the value of another. Until one is willing to find the internal strength to take a stand against these mysticisms in favor of building human character. While there may be inequities this film shines in realism and humanism.… Expand

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