80
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Village VoiceBilge EbiriVillage VoiceBilge EbiriOver the course of its simple, unadorned 82 minutes, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Hissein Habré: A Chadian Tragedy wrecks you in ways you might not have known were possible.
- 90VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay Weissberg[A] concise, clearly told and deeply effective documentary.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerBy focusing his camera on those “half-men, completely broken” by Habre’s reign and allowing them to tell their stories, Haroun is helping his country to finally mourn its own tragedy, while his warm and understanding approach offers up what feels like a path toward appeasement.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyHaroun journeys through the country and films his travels to meet with the regime’s victims. He brings a profound compassion and a controlled rage to accounts of moral obscenities, while also recording accounts of deep solidarity among the victims, even under terrifying circumstances.
- 60The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergIt’s more of a document than a documentary; calling it cinema seems like an error of categorization.