75
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe stories we hear in 24 City belong to its specific place, but they are universal.
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternThe new film, shot in vivid hi-def video, is part documentary and part fiction based on interviews; it uses on-camera interviews with workers, some played by themselves and some played by actors, to evoke a past of unimaginable toil, and suffering, in the service of the Communist state.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisThe actors in 24 City bring their own existential realities to their short, touching performances. In the end, the deep emotions they stir up -- the actress Lv Liping delivers a harrowing story about a lost child -- constitute another kind of monument to the workers of Factory 420.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumBeautiful and challenging documentary.
- 80Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanJia Zhangke is one of the world's preeminent filmmakers, an essentially contemplative director whose considerable talent is further amplified by the significance of his material--namely, everyday life in the most dynamic economy on earth.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe result is surprisingly engrossing -- even lively, due in part to brief musical numbers inserted amid the interviews.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterThe only thing might have added variety and richness to the film would be the inclusion of more dialogues or interactions with more than one person.
- 60VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyResult is far more accessible than Jia's previous two pictures, with moments of genuine emotion by the real-life interviewees.
- 58The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasMostly, 24 City falls into the same Jia trap of inadvertently drawing the viewers' gaze past his human subjects and to the poetic images of a country in painful metamorphosis.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleThe director's most painfully slow movie yet.