Bitterbrush
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 17, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJun 16, 2022
In following two young women employed as range riders in Idaho, the film presents its own modern-day picture of hard work and camaraderie. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiJun 17, 2022
Despite my ostensible disinterest in the subject at hand, I found myself mesmerized by this spare, affecting, and powerfully humane work that may seem quiet and reserved, but which ends up packing a surprisingly powerful emotional punch by the end. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinJun 15, 2022
Don’t go into the immersive, observational documentary “Bitterbrush” looking for profound insights or roiling conflict but rather a captivating and meditative look at two intrepid young women surviving — and seasonally thriving — in a traditionally male-dominated field: cattle herding. Read full review
80
VarietyTomris LafflySep 18, 2021
Think of John Ford vistas by way of Kelly Reichardt’s lyricism, soulfully underscored by Bach, and you’ll be roughly in Mahdavian’s vicinity. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenSep 18, 2021
As the filmmaker traces a season of range riding for two exceptionally skilled and resourceful young women, her documentary becomes more than a portrait of against-the-elements fortitude; it poses piercing existential questions about purpose and independence, particularly for women choosing work that has long been deemed the exclusive province of men. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMartin TsaiJun 15, 2022
Bitterbrush director Emelie Mahdavian allows you to tag along with two range riders, listen in on intimate conversations, and bask in spectacular and sometimes unforgiving nature as you observe their way of life. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 10, 2022
Mahdavian is content to sketch in these lives and simply observe two women at their jobs. Read full review
75
IndieWireKristen LopezSep 18, 2021
With Bitterbrush, Mahdavian announces herself as a filmmaker with a keen eye for capturing the contradictions and complexities of outsider women’s lives. Read full review
75
The PlaylistCarlos AguilarSep 18, 2021
Mahdavian’s nonfiction proposes something distinct: a subtle portrayal of non-sensational humanity. Read full review
67
Paste MagazineAurora AmidonJun 21, 2022
The audience is asked to watch a number of anticlimactic, inconsequential moments for just a little too long, which ends up dull. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakJun 15, 2022
Mahdavian gives us enough for context and motivation before letting Colie and Hollyn take over with their enthusiasm and love of nature, and this opportunity to absorb it on a level very few people can. Because it won’t last. Life will interfere. So embrace the awe without regrets. Read full review
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