71
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Film ThreatLorry KiktaFilm ThreatLorry KiktaThe Disappearance of My Mother is rife with grand philosophical questions about beauty, capitalism, love, life, and death, while still maintaining the intimacy of a family connection.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichThe Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichThis is a tumultuous muse story in which the artist and his inspiration just happen to be blood relations.
- 80Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterThe result of the collaboration between mother and son brings no great epiphanies but it remains a film that both beguiles and unsettles as it salutes a remarkable woman and the enduring demands of ties that bind.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottAt the very least, it’s impossible to watch The Disappearance of My Mother without a measure of ambivalence. Gratitude for the chance to make Barzini’s acquaintance, and for Barrese’s sensitivity in making the introduction, is accompanied by ethical queasiness.
- 75The Film StageJohn FinkThe Film StageJohn FinkThe Disappearance of My Mother is a bit too rough around the edges, but it’s as honest as it is persistent.
- 75Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneIt’s fascinating to see Benedetta Barzini in academic action, like an ethnographer of the patriarchy herself, bringing back news from its most glamourous yet rotten core.
- 75RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyBarrese follows his mother everywhere. She bikes to teach her classes, and there's lots of thought-provoking footage of her lectures and small conferences with students. These are some of the best sequences in the film.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe Disappearance of My Mother captures the 1960s supermodel turned ’70s (and beyond) Marxist/feminist, a striking figure who raised children by building an afterlife of journalism, activism and education.
- 60VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThe Disappearance of My Mother is a successful piece of documentary filmmaking inasmuch as it’s entertaining and dextrously crafted. But its precise intent is unclear.
- 42The PlaylistJonathan ChristianThe PlaylistJonathan ChristianBeyond a commendable amount of love and effort, there’s nothing substantial to take away from The Disappearance of My Mother.