X
  • 2019
  • Not Rated
  • Kimstim Films
  • 2 h 3 m
  • 2019
  • Not Rated
  • Kimstim Films
  • 2 h 3 m

Summary What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire is the story of a community of black people in the American South during the summer 2017, when a string of brutal killings of black men sent shockwaves throughout the country. A meditation on the state of race in America, this film is an intimate portrait into the lives of those who struggle for...

Directed By: Roberto Minervini

Written By: Roberto Minervini

  • 2019
  • Not Rated
  • Kimstim Films
  • 2 h 3 m
  • 2019
  • Not Rated
  • Kimstim Films
  • 2 h 3 m

What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
68
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire is the story of a community of black people in the American South during the summer 2017, when a string of brutal killings of black men sent shockwaves throughout the country. A meditation on the state of race in America, this film is an intimate portrait into the lives of those who struggle for...

Directed By: Roberto Minervini

Written By: Roberto Minervini

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
68
58% Positive
7 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
68
58% Positive
7 Reviews
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Aug 15, 2019
The movie unfolds impressionistically. To call it a portrait of collective resilience is accurate, but that description shortchanges its richness on both human and historical scales.
By Ben Kenigsberg FULL REVIEW
90
Sep 5, 2019
Solemn in tone and indispensable in significance, the latest from an artist with a track record for surveying marginalized Americans is structured like a collage of incendiary and heart-wrenching moments that toe dip into social justice issues without staying long with any one idea.
By Carlos Aguilar FULL REVIEW
80
Sep 15, 2018
Shot with grace and sensitivity in black and white using available and natural light, What You Gonna Do is a visual treat, the easiest on the eye of all the director’s films to date. It is also, for all its unevenness, a stirring, committed portrait of black lives at a crossroads in the American South.
By Lee Marshall FULL REVIEW
63
Aug 14, 2019
The film is beautiful and occasionally quite moving, but its subject matter deserves more than art-house irresolution.
By Chuck Bowen FULL REVIEW
60
Sep 15, 2018
While always attractive, the look conveys a level of non-spontaneous construction that often takes away from the potency of hard, brutal reality.
By Jay Weissberg FULL REVIEW
58
Sep 15, 2018
One’s pulse is not raised much during the two-hour runtime. This is especially disappointing from a director who has made sure to capture parts of America no other filmmakers seem to want to touch with a ten-foot pole.
By Ethan Vestby FULL REVIEW
50
Sep 15, 2018
This is in many ways a frustrating film, its commitment admirable but its execution chaotic.
By David Rooney FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Okta Film, Pulpa Entertainment, Shellac Sud, Rai Cinema, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo (MiBACT), Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Fondo Audiovisivo del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, L'Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, Institut Français
Release Date Aug 16, 2019
Duration 2 h 3 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Website https://www.shellac-altern.org/films/503
View All Details

Awards

Venice Film Festival
• 4 Wins & 5 Nominations
Mar del Plata Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 4 Nominations
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

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