What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

Released Dec 25, 2019

1h 35m

Documentary

List

89%

71 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Greg Carlson

Vague Visages

A worthwhile biography of a fascinating life led with purpose and conviction.

Jul 28, 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

Full Review

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

Full Review

joe m

Here I am writing a review of a film reviewers life! Thumbnail re-cap - if you want to see a somewhat cerebral film that looks at the life of a renowned, yet snarky, NYC film critic - well "What She Said" is for you. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael" is one of those documentaries that is engaging to see how someone's life can be very interesting, even when not at the center of the field, in this instance filmmaking. Here we have film critic Pauline Kael and her impact and influence on film and film makers from the late 1960s until the beginning of the 1990s. While a warts and all re-caping of Kael's life, it does end up being more skewed to hagiography, some of it deserved for a woman who was breaking in to a gentlemen's domain. I will be honest, I've read few of Kael's reviews and none of her books. And while the movie covers a broad range of films during Kael's career, there is a particular emphasis on genres or directors she advocate for and towards the independent, artistic and offbeat. That is films from the 'artistic' circuit of NYC/LA/SF. Well, it comes off as one of those outsiders looking in type films - us as the viewer watching coastal elites, especially the NYC intelligentsia. One comes away a bit awestruck, a bit envious and definitely a sense of a rarified realm of the privileged - and the somewhat out of touch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

Audience Member

One of my favorites must see I loved this one

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

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Rob Garver

Director

Alec Baldwin

Self

John Boorman

Self

Francis Ford Coppola

Self

John Guare

Self

Molly Haskell

Self

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Synopsis

The life and work of the controversial film critic.

Director: Rob Garver
Producer: Bobby Campbell, Erken Ialgashev
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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