55
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Film ThreatAnthony Ray BenchFilm ThreatAnthony Ray BenchThe Garden Left Behind is an amazing drama filled to the brim with realistic and heavy performances that will absolutely leave a lasting impression and subject matter that should more commonly be explored and celebrated. This film is special, and it deserves mass audience attention.
- 75The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakWhat’s mostly a vérité document of lead character Tina’s (Carlie Guevara) trajectory towards chemically transitioning from male to female despite being an undocumented immigrant in an expensive city like New York, Flavio Alves’ The Garden Left Behind is also a rather potent expression of humanity’s collective dysphoria.
- 70Film ThreatNorman GidneyFilm ThreatNorman GidneyThe Garden Left Behind is a melancholy but strangely optimistic look at the struggles that some in the Trans community face every single day. It’s not a perfect film, but it is a movie with a message of tolerance and understanding. For that, it should be praised.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesThe Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesThe flaws in The Garden Left Behind should not prevent anyone from appreciating the rich, compassionate story Alves has brought to the screen with such assurance, or the heroine Guevara has brought to life with such realism.
- 70Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterDistinguished by a cast in which the trans characters are played by trans actors, the film effectively uses the trials of an individual life to illuminate the prejudices faced by a wider community.
- 60The GuardianCath ClarkeThe GuardianCath ClarkeIt’s not reasonable to ask that the film keeps Tina safe, but a sense from the start that things might end badly for her made me wince a little even during the lovely, authentic-feeling scenes of her life.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIt’s introductory by nature, polished yet primitive, just like the films that dominated gay big screen storytelling long before the alphabetic expansion to “LGBTQ.”
- 25RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloRogerEbert.comMonica CastilloThe Garden Left Behind works best as a message movie, not for the community it’s set in but for everyone else.