The Swamp
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    90
    As La Ciénaga perspires from the screen, it creates a vision of social malaise that feels paradoxically familiar and new.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    Martel's sharp observations of the foibles of human nature are expressed perfectly in the telling images of cinematographer Hugo Colace and tight editing of Santiago Ricci.
  3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    100
    Vital and alive. Frustration and malaise rumble through every richly textured frame, but behind it all is a restlessness and a desire for something better.
  4. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Bill Gallo
    90
    For better or worse, the filmmaker says nothing directly political about the cruel fate suffered by her people, but the dark poetry of her allusions is powerful.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Patrick Z. McGavin
    88
    Argentinean filmmaker Lucrecia Martel takes fundamental risks with form and style, and it pays off brilliantly.
  6. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Meredith Brody
    100
    Every frame is dense with life, with children and animals running in and out, yet it's not messy. Instead it's highly focused--and something of a small masterpiece.

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