78
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonTold with such sadness and exaltation, such mastery of image and sound, that watching it makes you feel renewed and hopeful.
- 90Village VoiceVillage VoiceHirsch edits segments together to merge disparate voices, showing how for this movement, music was no universal language -- it was specific, pointed, and almost paranormal in its power.
- 89Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFinds a way to impart this sad history while raising our spirits at the same time.
- 80Washington PostWashington PostViewers will leave Amandla! moved by the music, impressed by the musicians and dubious about the possibility of political and social healing.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMusic was the ANC's most dangerous weapon, and we see footage of streets lined with tens of thousands of marchers, singing and dancing, expressing an unquenchable spirit.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe value of Amandla! is that the film helps the rest of the world understand, both with our ears and minds, where South Africans have come from.
- 70Chicago ReaderHank SartinChicago ReaderHank SartinAt times Hirsch seems afraid to trust the material's inherent drama and becomes unnecessarily manipulative, staging performances in striking landscapes and playing the footage in slow motion.
- 70Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyCinema has done a fine job of documenting the anti-apartheid movement, even if too often the spotlight shone brightest on the white man through whom the black man's story was being told.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThough overlong and repetitive, Hirsch's film is vitalized by the same music that helped keep the revolutionary spirit alive.
- 50New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardThe film itself is a bit on the talking-head side, evoking none of the passion and anguish that are the music's trademarks.