65
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneIt ever so subtly zeros in on the extreme particularities of a remote place to find something universal, or at the very least easily comprehensible about despair.
- 80Village VoiceAaron CutlerVillage VoiceAaron CutlerThe slippages and contradictions between who people are, imagine themselves to be, and present themselves as being inform the structure of Machine, a kind of loose container into which people step and out of which they extract more ideal selves.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThose already well-versed in Georgia’s recent history will get the most from a series of real-life character sketches occasionally cryptic for their lack of contextualizing explanation. But the docu’s ample human interest and handsome lensing, despite much visual evidence of a struggling economy, will hold interest for most viewers.
- 70The DissolveJen ChaneyThe DissolveJen ChaneyThis is a film about people whose stories are still being written, and who, despite their palpable sense of exhaustion, are still seeking healing and hope. There are no Hollywood endings here. That’s just the truth, which Gurchiani has proved she’s committed to capturing.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe film produces moments that catch in the throat.
- 70If it aims to be an inside story of life in Georgia, a kind of people's history of Georgian youth, this documentary sometimes feels like scattershot vox-pop journalism. Its individual threads resonate strongly, but the larger pattern never comes together; the social tapestry meant to be on display seems, to the end, to have holes in it.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe film captures a few surprising similarities to the West: One dead-eyed club kid says she’s “tired of everything,” while a hopeful young actor seems to be trying out for her own reality show, breaking down in front of her estranged mother. The experiment isn’t more than a slice of life, but at least it’s a generous one.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeAs a National Geographic-style pictorial, The Machine is modestly engaging.
- 40Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinUnfortunately, there's a lack of structure, context and point of view to the largely gray, grim, hardscrabble world presented here.