Approaching the Elephant
Wilder Films | Release Date: February 20, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Feb 18, 2015
The footage, edited by Actress director Robert Greene, coheres into what feels like one long, chaotic school day. You can practically feel the pulse of grown-up veins, the fraying of last nerves. Read full review
90
Village VoiceCalum MarshFeb 17, 2015
The faults and merits of the free-school movement are elucidated with a steely, journalistic rigor. More surprising is that this candid glimpse plays as exhilarating drama. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzFeb 25, 2015
The movie is significant as a movie: it's intelligent, sensitive and expertly made. But it's also significant because of its ability to provoke introspection and arguments. In its deceptively modest way, it's as much a Rorschach test as "American Sniper." Everybody who sees it will draw a different picture of the elephant. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineChristopher GrayFeb 17, 2015
The film's 90 minutes are a disorienting cyclone of destructive incidents and propulsive energy. Read full review
80
The DissolveScott TobiasFeb 17, 2015
Much of the observational brilliance of Approaching The Elephant comes from how closely form relates to content: Out of chaos comes order, both at Teddy McArdle and in the film, which brings the personalities and conflicts into sharper focus as it goes along. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldFeb 19, 2015
Ms. Wilder, in her debut feature, riskily opts to leave much of the children’s educational activity fairly vague. Which gives it one more thing in common with school: You need to pay attention. Read full review
70
The New YorkerRichard BrodyFeb 17, 2015
Amanda Rose Wilder’s nuanced and passionate documentary, about the first year of a “free” elementary school in New Jersey, reveals the glories and the limitations of unstructured classrooms and observational filmmaking alike. Read full review
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