61
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesDevika GirishThe New York TimesDevika GirishAlthough each chapter is built around an event — a tryst or a revelation — the film comes to life in quiet, conversational details that capture the textures of people’s lives across different generations and classes.
- 78Paste MagazineOktay Ege KozakPaste MagazineOktay Ege KozakOver all, the profound performances, the even-lit digital cinematography that gives the film a docudrama feel, and Moussaoi’s impressive voice as a first-time feature helmer turns Until the Birds Return into an engaging work on the universality of human nature.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMoussaoui captures the drama with a simple style that can seem a bit lackluster at times, although he makes good use of the Algerian locations and coaxes compelling performances from his cast. In the end, his narrative's three-pronged structure is perhaps the film's strongest asset.
- 50Screen DailyLee MarshallScreen DailyLee MarshallThere’s an observational authenticity that is refreshing in an audiovisual culture whose attempts at self-analysis are too often skewed by melodrama. It’s also heartening to see such delicate stories of ordinary people come to the fore in a country whose filmmakers faces enormous hurdles; technical, financial and bureaucratic.
- 33The PlaylistKyle KohnerThe PlaylistKyle KohnerMoussaoui’s underwhelming use of fractured storytelling technique not only dilutes any organic narrative development, but he completely jeopardizes the impactful nature of the film’s potentially poignant message: how we as humans are in one way or another connected to each other.