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What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

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What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

Released Dec 25, 2019

1h 35m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

88%

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69 Reviews

55%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

The life and work of the controversial film critic.

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Critics Consensus

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael clearly outlines the gifts that made its subject special while offering an engaging overview of her remarkable life and career.

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Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

"What She Said" is a good movie, an engaging look at probably the most influential film critic of all time.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 11, 2020

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Thankfully, "What She Said" is balanced on the subject of Kael's clout in the film and magazine industries, which could be as bruising as it was influential.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 21, 2020

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Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

"What She Said" pays fitting homage, not just to a great writer but to a vanished age.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 14, 2020

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Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

It’s directed with sincere empathy and admiration for Kael, peeling back the layers to reveal what kind of person she was, and why that person, however flawed, was precisely what film criticism needed.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 14, 2024

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Ben Flanagan

Vague Visages

“Garver doesn’t really provide more than an overview, but perhaps that will indeed bring new eyes to some great American writing.”

Feb 10, 2024

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

From 1952 through 1991, Kael established herself as the most visible, outspoken, revered, reviled, and influential movie critic of all time. For me, Kael’s most profound statement included here is: “Without critics, everything else is advertising.”

Rated: 4/5

Aug 12, 2023

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razvan p

the image of evil > contradictory > partially competent > partially spiritual

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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s r

Good to learn about Kael and the influence she has had on film. Saw it on TCM.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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dave d

A polarizing figure, Pauline Kael deserved a better documentary and maybe someday one will occur. This is rudimentary and cursory for a women that so many feel was the greatest critic of all time. Others view her as a mean-spirited shrew. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle! Final Score: 6.0/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

One of my favorites must see I loved this one

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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david f

A good summary of Kael's life and opinions, which shows the impact that she had on film criticism and the film industry and tells the story of her life.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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brent m

This cinematic homage to one of film critcism's most influential -- and controversial -- representatives provides audiences with a passable overview of its subject, but it feels unsatisfyingly incomplete, never quite getting to the meat of the matter as effectively as it could have. We're provided with the requisite biography, interviews with knowledgeable commentators and narrated snippets of the critic's prose, but what's lacking is a meaningful, in-depth, organized discussion of the motivations and sensibilities that drove her work. Instead, we're given a scattershot buffet of passing observations, reminiscences of colleagues and those she wrote about, and anecdotes about specific films that she either liked or disliked. Viewers come away from this offering never really grasping what drove her work and why, leaving a more than palpable and lingering sense of hunger, a disappointment given how significant a role she played in the field in which she became such a powerful influence.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Rob Garver

Director

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Self

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Self

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Synopsis

The life and work of the controversial film critic.

Director: Rob Garver
Producer: Glen Zipper, Rob Garver
Screenwriter: Rob Garver
Distributor: Juno Films
Production Co: 29Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 16, 2020
Runtime: 1h 35m

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