74
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter Debruge[A] sublime, quietly elegiac feature debut.
- 88RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyUtama sounds a warning even as it casts a spell, and the spell is one of life and death and eternal returns and never-ending struggles, and the rest we can try to take when the work is done for the day.
- 83The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodAdmittedly, Utama is a simple story, but one that packs an emotional punch without endless exposition or symbolism.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerUtama is very much a pessimistic film, never shying away from the realities faced by those who still inhabit the highlands of Bolivia. And yet it’s also convincingly, and sometimes movingly, optimistic.
- 80Time OutTime OutIt’s an astonishingly assured and emotionally engrossing debut. Grisi’s background as an award-winning photographer is evident in the composition of every shot, almost any one of which could hang on the wall of a gallery wall. Yet his narrative focus is always on Virginio and Sisa, whose expressions of intimacy and love are largely non-verbal yet deeply felt.
- 75IndieWireCarlos AguilarIndieWireCarlos AguilarFor all its otherworldly beauty, “Utama” could benefit from slightly more robust dramatic beats to complement the hyper-sensorial experience that imbues in the spectator, especially in addressing the displacement of Indigenous communities across the Americas and beyond.
- 67The Film StageDavid KatzThe Film StageDavid KatzUtama is a slow-motion look at how communities can falter, how rich heritage can be lost—to indifference from governments as well as a climate crisis that will decimate their way of life. If only it weren’t so gentle in its reminder.
- 63Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardStock story beats of generational dispute run throughout Utama, existing mainly to show off the widescreen possibilities of the Scope frame.
- 60The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisWhile climate change shadows every anxious discussion here, it also remains at a safe remove, a vague threat embedded in an aesthetically soothing package and gently salted with tears.