68
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxDocumentary filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine found an ingenious way to tell their story in a film that is as unflinching as it is uplifting.
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerThe filmmaking style is annoyingly slick, but the testimonies of these children are excruciatingly moving.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanOverly polished, but deeply affecting, documentary.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFor these kids to sing and dance with all their hearts, they need to go to a place in themselves that should be closed down forever. The glories of War/Dance are torturously won, and all the more glorious for it.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterA refreshingly upbeat film that finds its roots in some seriously sobering events.
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenWar/Dance, in spite of its slickness, is an honorable, sometimes inspiring exploration of the primal healing power of music and dance in an African tribal culture.
- 50SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirIt's the film's reassuring, almost hypnotic visual rhythms, along with its Hollywood-like narrative structure -- which is closer to "Drumline" or "Bring It On" than to most documentaries -- that make it bearable.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickEven in support of the noblest of causes, manipulation is manipulation.
- 40VarietyVarietyWhile the pic may be targeting Westerners who want to feel less awful about genocide and global negligence, it's hard to imagine War Dance appealing to that crowd -- or any other.
- 40Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe movie comes across as desperately, even irritatingly contrived, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it overcame my naturally complacent instincts--which would be to watch something (anything) else, to not get haunted by that closing litany of websites for global action.