Beautiful Beings

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1:54

Beautiful Beings

Released Jan 13, 2023

2h 3m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As the group's behavior escalates towards life-threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence?

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

The pacing is sometimes shaggy, and the boys’ motivations are occasionally mysterious, but Guðmundsson’s young actors are magnetic in a physical, haunted way...

Jan 19, 2023

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

RogerEbert.com

For much of the film, Guðmundsson draws on the long tradition of angry young man films, without adding much by way of originality or insight that hasn’t already been said.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 13, 2023

Full Review

Manohla Dargis

New York Times

It’s a sad, familiar story of boys being socially constructed, hyper-masculinized, aggressively nasty little jerks, one largely distinguished by the palpable tenderness that the writer-director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson brings to its telling.

Jan 12, 2023

Full Review

Tina Kakadelis

Beyond the Cinerama Dome

Despite its anger, Beautiful Beings remains deeply hopeful. The kids aren’t alright, but they were never given the space to be alright.

Jul 24, 2023

Full Review

Soham Gadre

Film Inquiry

While Beautiful Beings is well-intentioned and certainly emotionally resonant in parts, it stops short of having a lasting emotional effect. Its central characters are difficult but not complex.

May 6, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Beautiful Beings’ disparate parts shouldn’t work together. But its whole is ultimately more than their sum, resulting in something that’s moving in a hard-won way, rather than just a gimmicky take on familiar abusive horror stories.

May 1, 2023

Full Review

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Jim P

Fabulous. Great acting and a well-made movie about today’s teenage troubles.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/28/24

Full Review

Jackie H

Heartbreaking but beautiful film. The actors were amazing. Captures the reality of many kids growing up in poverty.. The friendships were so powerful. Although the kids could be ruthless at times, they seemed to still follow a moral compass. Sticking up for those that had been abused and the weak. I really enjoyed it, brought me to tears. This movie has tons of trigger warnings so just be aware. I thought it was captivating though! 10 out of 10.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

Hanna E

I think that Beautiful Beings is a very powerful movie, with deep meaning and strong friendship, it shows how teenagers with dis functional families can act out and do drugs or find friends that wants to break rules or find groups of people who is dangerous, but also strong love for their friends. The movie is filmed in such a realistic way and great light. The scenes in the bullied boys house shows how it can be for kids, teenagers when there is drugs and abuse involved.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

Full Review

Krissy L

Real storyline about growing up as teens, peer pressure and not living the perfect fairytale life and how they find their way. Very moving. Beautiful cinematagraphy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/30/23

Full Review

Chaitanya M

Great cast and beautiful cinematography really toils well with the fantastical elements, but tying it all in is where the movie struggles. All that buildup ultimately amounts to nothing, even though climax tries it best and is a good scene on its own.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/19/23

Full Review

razvan p

incomplete humans trying to become whole

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/05/23

Full Review

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Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

Director

Birgir Dagur Bjarkason

Addi

Áskell Einar Pálmason

Balli

Viktor Benóný Benediktsson

Konni

Snorri Rafn Frímannsson

Siggi

Anita Briem

Guðrún

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Beautiful Beings: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As the group's behavior escalates towards life-threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence?

Director: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Producer: Anton Máni Svansson
Screenwriter: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Distributor: Altered Innocence
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Icelandic
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 25, 2023
Runtime: 2h 3m