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100Extraordinary.
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100Beautifully crafted and brutally honest.
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91Superb, Oscar-nominated documentary.
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Polarized world views from the mouths of babes -- unfortunately does little to mitigate this depressing image, but much to humanize both sides.
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88Promises may want to unite the audience in humanitarian emotions, but it's more useful as a prod to examine what these children are learning from their schools, their leaders, and their media.
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80Proves too sincere to exploit its subjects and too honest to manipulate its audience.
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80"I knew the children here had something to say," Goldberg says in voiceover early in the film. That statement may sound slightly maudlin, but the film that follows is anything but.
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80Promises takes a simple idea and just about breaks your heart with it.
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Demonstrates the unusual power of thoughtful, subjective filmmaking.
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80Despite its lively tone and brisk editing, the project's sad epilogue -- shot two years later -- suggests that Abraham and Mohammed will be duking it out on the world's dime for some time to come.
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80Timely and informative.
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75The impact of Promises comes from the openness of the children.
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75The filmmakers caught the kids arguing their cases like adversaries on "Judge Judy," sticking to phrases they've memorized or absorbed only too well.
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70An earnest, roughshod document, it serves as a workable primer for the region's recent history, and would make a terrific 10th-grade learning tool.
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70Provides deeply humanistic insight into the complexities of the Middle East conflict that political analysis or front-line news coverage often lacks.
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60Insightful, Oscar-nominated documentary.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 3 out of 3
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MikeD.10I don't cry during movies. I cried to the point of dehydration in this one. Everyone should see this movie.