83
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisEqual parts disturbing and humorous, informative and bizarre, Rat Film is a brilliantly imaginative and formally experimental essay on how Baltimore has dealt with its rat problem and manipulated its black population.
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsIt’s one of the most imaginative and provocative documentaries on any topic I’ve seen this year.
- 91The Film StageDaniel SchindelThe Film StageDaniel SchindelRat Film stalks between being repellent, riveting, and darkly humorous.
- 91The PlaylistNoel MurrayThe PlaylistNoel MurrayRat Film doesn’t really make an impassioned political statement. Instead, Anthony assembles striking, allusive pictures and sounds into a one-of-a-kind experience, meant to provoke thought.
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John SemleyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)John SemleyRat Film is most compelling when it moves out of the history of Baltimore's civic-planning and pest-control schemes and settles on its denizens, both human and rodent.
- 80The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard Brody[Anthony] turns a concluding sequence of civic pride and good cheer into a brilliantly light-hearted fantasy of grave import, a radical political utopia conjured with a deft artistic flourish. It’s one of the most extraordinary, visionary inspirations in the recent cinema.
- 75RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRat Film is an odd and captivating experience, and its fluid style is its most distinguishing characteristic.
- 70Village VoiceBilge EbiriVillage VoiceBilge EbiriWhat exactly does it all mean? I’m not sure, but it does make for a disturbing and occasionally absorbing watch.
- 50Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardInherent to director Theo Anthony's misappropriation of the essay form is a conflicting account of precisely which history his documentary seeks to investigate.