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ABC Africa

EMAILPRINTNew Yorker Films

ABC Africa reviews
73
6.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 3, 2002
DVD: June 21, 2005

Running Time: 84 minutes, Color

Origin: Iran

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Abbas Kiarostami, and Seyfolah Samadian

A documentary about the tragedy of the children whose parents have died of AIDS and are now stranded in a refugee camp in Kampala, Uganda.

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...

90

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Beyond giving a human face to Uganda's crises, Kiarostami attempts to capture the actual place, a swirl of contradictions as vibrant and beautiful as it is troubled.

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90

The New York Times Dana Stevens

You come away from his film overwhelmed, hopeful and, perhaps paradoxically, illuminated.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Lovely, heart-stirring film.

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80

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

A gorgeous and surprisingly profound meditation on a place and its people.

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80

Variety Scott Foundas

Kiarostami shoots Africa with an uncanny verisimilitude, coming close here to his idea of a "poetic cinema" indebted more to poetry and music than the theatrical novelistic storytelling tradition.

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70

Village Voice J. Hoberman

The emphasis in this surprisingly cheerful film is on the resilience of the living.

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70

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The film is only superficially superficial, and it grows in meaning and resonance as it progresses.

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70

TV Guide Ken Fox

It's a surprisingly uplifting experience, and in the end, unmistakably a Kiarostami film.

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50

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's not enough for the film to show us a child's corpse wrapped in cardboard; we've got to step back to see Kiarostami himself shooting the sad sight, so that it becomes a Godardian ironic statement.

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50

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

This slight but insinuating documentary by Abbas Kiarostami...will do nothing to advance or detract from the reputation of the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

This documentary fails to grasp AIDS as a theme.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

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

Jason P. gave it a9:
Much more complex than it appears. A poetic meditation on what it means to see suffering. Modest, humble, self-effacing and beautiful and utterly tragic in its commitment to realism.

Ciro frank S. gave it a 0:
orrible! Kiarostami easy tricky movie. See the adult's eyes in the movie. tourist point of you. never inside the situation bah!

J P. gave it an 8:
Very well done.

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