80
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyePerhaps what’s most impressive about On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is Nyoni’s respect for subtext. Her film doesn’t aim to be a guide, a balm or an ode to forgiveness. The director rejects the ease of over-explanation and allure of an exclusively reverential tone. She reaches for honesty, and what she uncovers is at once disquieting and deeply absorbing.
- 90VarietyGuy LodgeVarietyGuy LodgeBlending molasses-dark comedy with searing poetic realism to capture contemporary Zambian society at a generational impasse between staunch tradition and social progress, this is palpably new, future-minded filmmaking, at once intrepidly daring and rigorously poised.
- 90New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNew York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriThe off-kilter, absurdist vibe of the picture is enchanting, but it’s rooted in deep horror: The whole movie is about the ways that cruelty and injustice become codified. Sometimes, the only way to preserve your sanity is to go a little insane yourself.
- 83IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThe scarring power of Nyoni’s film ignites from Shula’s eventual realization that she would rather torch her family to the ground than let them forget what happened.
- 81TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondThe film can be confusing, but it’s not meant to be pinned down. And despite the occasionally surreal touches, it’s an examination of how the beauty of tradition can also be an opponent to justice and humanity.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawWhile it’s such an intriguing idea, an almost absurdist scrutiny of what avoidance looks like and how families choreograph their collective denial, there is something a little bit contrived in it and, though always engaged, I found myself longing for some outright passion or rage or confrontation.