Farewell Amor
IFC Films | Release Date: December 11, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 23, 2020
One of the great strengths of Farewell Amor is its intimacy, the sense it conveys of three people close together yet emotionally distant in Walter’s small, narrow Brooklyn apartment. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansDec 21, 2020
There are three sides to every story in Ekwa Msangi’s vivid and carefully observed feature debut, and so she cleverly splits the film into thirds, replaying the action but changing the vantage point with each chapter. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustDec 16, 2020
Its beauty lies in its empathy — something currently in short supply and therefore very welcome in the stories we consume. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinDec 15, 2020
Refreshingly, Msangi’s empathy extends in every direction. Read full review
75
IndieWireRyan LattanzioDec 15, 2020
The actors’ gifts are all heightened by Msangi’s delicate touch in this empathetic portrait of immigrant life in America that is, refreshingly, less interested in big drama than in a family quietly building itself back up when it may be too late. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyMary SollosiDec 14, 2020
Its gentle, understated tone belies Msangi’s careful attention to rhythm and detail, though the simplicity of the plot, particularly in a few mild contrivances, slightly undermines the story’s authenticity. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloDec 14, 2020
Writer and director Ekwa Msangi constructs this nontraditional narrative with an attention to detail for each of these characters. Just as important as their conversations is their body language and how it shifts around one another. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenDec 11, 2020
The family’s reunion story is enhanced by showing it from each character’s perspective. Each time, we discover more about each person and come to admire the sensitivity they show toward one another. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDevika GirishDec 10, 2020
Even as Farewell Amor treads familiar paths, its tripartite structure allows for uncommon nuance. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 9, 2020
The script is a passing parade of grace notes, most delivered with a light touch. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubRoxana HadadiDec 9, 2020
The film’s final moments suggest a benign American domesticity that its preceding scenes purposefully interrogate. But before that jarring ending, Farewell Amor is clever and unpredictable, using familiar tropes about assimilation to arrange demonstrations of honesty, regret, and love for its characters. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterBeandrea JulyNov 3, 2020
Ultimately, Farewell Amor is a heartening meditation on the meaning of home not just for one African immigrant family, but for all of mankind. Read full review
80
VarietyJessica KiangNov 3, 2020
The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Read full review
60
CineVueMatthew AndersonNov 3, 2020
The US-born, Kenyan-raised director’s feature-length debut is told with honesty, determination and grace. Read full review
75
The Film StageMatt CipollaNov 3, 2020
Msangi pulls off something most filmmakers don’t: She adapts her own short film to a feature without stretching it out. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlex SavelievNov 3, 2020
Though Farewell Amor is not a “dance movie", it’s primarily about that moment when we dance - when everything else falls away, Amor takes over, and we bid our troubles farewell. Read full review
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