Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles
GKIDS | Release Date: August 16, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TheWrapCarlos AguilarAug 16, 2019
In animation, Simó finds the ideal canvas, one that allows him to recount the most gruesome instances of strenuous filmmaking in more palatable form while also ingeniously enlivening the surreal sequences with glorious hand-drawn work. Read full review
83
The PlaylistSteven AllisonAug 15, 2019
At its heart, the film tells an incredibly touching – and altogether unexpected – human story. Entertaining and educational in equal parts, Simó’s animated film is one you don’t want to skip. Read full review
80
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpSep 4, 2019
Simó “gets” Buñuel’s drives, and his animation lends the story a layer of romanticism while emphasizing that talent isn’t a hall pass. Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles treats genius as a knottier idea. Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan is a masterpiece, sure, but “masterpiece” takes on layers of new meaning once we see how the sausage is made. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 15, 2019
Though undeniably charming, Buñuel can be a difficult character to like here, but that’s the point: The movie dares to imagine the exact moment when Buñuel the callow prankster became Buñuel, engaged anthropologist of the human condition, whose later Mexico City masterpiece “Los Olvidados” was clearly informed by what he witnessed in Las Hurdes. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJonathan HollandAug 15, 2019
Bunuel is above all a good story elegantly told. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoAug 16, 2019
As “Las Hurdes” blurred documentary and fiction, this film blurs what we traditionally expect from animation. As for why to tell this story, it’s all really there in an opening discussion about the impact of art and what is gained from dissecting it vs. just experiencing it. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichAug 13, 2019
For all of its heady ideas, some of which it explores to greater effect than others, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles is most striking for how it illustrates that animation isn’t a mere subcategory of cinema. That movies have always been a unique medium for how they see reality and unreality as two overlapping roads towards the same truth. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 15, 2019
At its most absorbing, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles makes it clear there are no easy answers, perhaps especially when the art itself isn’t easy. Read full review
70
The New York TimesGlenn KennyAug 15, 2019
The animation is handsome, the graphic settings understated but intelligently detailed. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakAug 12, 2019
It’s an interesting glimpse at his process with Buñuel doing despicable things alongside beautiful ones. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrSep 25, 2019
Who’s the audience for this? Well, me and about five other movie junkies at the crossroads of history and art. Maybe you, too, even if your knowledge of Buñuel stops with the slashed eyeball of “Un Chien Andalou” (1929), still one of the most shocking images in all cinema. Read full review
60
CineVueChristopher MachellAug 4, 2020
Labyrinth of the Turtles is a charming and occasionally moving love letter to the legendary Spanish-Mexican surrealist, and at a spry 80 minutes, doesn’t outstay its welcome. Read full review
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