Ixcanul
Kino Lorber | Release Date: August 19, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 18, 2016
More than a fable about the clash of tradition and modernity, Ixcanul is finally a painful illustration of the ease with which those who have can prey on those who don’t. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangAug 25, 2016
Even as it moves from tender ethnographic portraiture into a realm of hushed, intimate tragedy, Ixcanul quivers with a fierce if understated feminine energy. Read full review
90
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 17, 2016
Even as it verges on melodrama, Ixcanul remains fascinated by its people's practical thinking, by how their contemporary circumstances — and occasionally premodern beliefs — lead to actions both relatable and achingly, disastrously not. Read full review
90
VarietyScott FoundasOct 12, 2015
What emerges, finally, is a film that gives an urgent, original voice to a people too frequently marginalized in both movies and society at large. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Alex MigdalAug 25, 2016
Bathed in dusty hues and rain-forest greens, Ixcanul is gorgeously shot and skillfully frames Maria’s curbed sexuality (look to a scene where she waits for her younger crush in the evening shadows). Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comAlissa WilkinsonAug 19, 2016
Ixcanul combines its fable-like plot with striking realism. Read full review
83
The Film StageEd FranklAug 16, 2016
Guatemala’s first-ever entry for the foreign language Oscar is an absorbing, beautifully-shot drama of cultural ritual and the drive of one young woman to escape a rudimentary social system. Read full review
83
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicOct 12, 2015
Steeped in a culture rarely observed on screen, Bustamante's film has the airs of a documentary. Its ensemble cast of local actors have zero trace of affectation in their performances. Read full review
80
Screen DailyLee MarshallAug 16, 2016
Much credit too must go the actors, all non-professionals who were discovered by the director via community meetings and theatre workshops. There’s no Brechtian alienation here: these are committed yet unmannered performances that help to flesh out what might otherwise be a thin story. Read full review
80
The GuardianJordan HoffmanOct 12, 2015
What’s most striking about Ixcanul is the elegant way in which it is shot. Scenes are given space, and the audience is allowed ample time to soak up the atmosphere. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisAug 25, 2016
Ixcanul provides a window into a culture that we rarely see. But it’s not just an anthropological study — it has a powerful story to tell, too. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryAug 25, 2016
Ixcanul is, among other things, a movie about the resilience and savvy of women who are continually disparaged by their cultures. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 17, 2016
This is a decidedly small-scale tragedy, but it still packs a cumulative wallop. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneAug 15, 2016
The film's structure, however stifling, is filled with gorgeous imagery and nuanced symbolism. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungOct 12, 2015
A solid example of low-key, well-observed, humanistically sympathetic ethnography. Read full review
60
CineVuePatrick GambleOct 12, 2015
Ixcanul may struggle to tackle the larger issue it posits but well represents the lives and rituals of the marginalised community it seeks to give a voice. Read full review
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