75
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyAlissa SimonVarietyAlissa SimonBased on helmer-writer Orit Fouks Rotem’s experience as a teacher and the real women she encountered, the film is full of life, love, humor and authenticity without being didactic. At the same time, it cleverly questions the ethics and responsibility of filmmaking.
- 85Film ThreatBenjamin FranzFilm ThreatBenjamin FranzCinema Sabaya is a beautiful model of peaceful coexistence. This is a heartwarming film that should be watched by everyone.
- 80Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleA wonderfully unforced, lightly intimate experience existing in a dramatic arena between observational nonfiction and bare-bones theater’s nowhere-to-go focus.
- 75The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupCinema Sabaya attempts to capture the spectrum of the human experience with a simplified conceit. While its reach may exceed its grasp, Rotem’s debut shows the necessity of making space for a dialogue, and how filmmaking is the perfect tool to express ideas that words can’t capture.
- 70Screen DailyNikki BaughanScreen DailyNikki BaughanWhile the film’s narrative may run a familiar path from conflict to resolution, Rotem’s light, authentic touch makes it an engaging journey.
- 70Wall Street JournalKyle SmithWall Street JournalKyle SmithCinema Sabaya, a quietly affecting little film about unexpected connections and unseen sorrows, shimmers with a bright optimism about how people might overlook one another’s differences if only they took a little time to learn about each other.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIt’s another one of the many Israeli films over the years that emphasizes connection, accidental or forced, in the close-quarters of Palestine — Israel, the Occupied Territories, lands under the Palestinian Authority. And like most of these films, it offers a glimmer of hope, even if it’s too much to expect Orit Fouks Rotem’s film to play out as wholly neutral.
- 60The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaThe New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaRotem’s organic approach steers clear of icky idealism, but its conclusions nevertheless feel worn out. Talking helps, sure, but getting people in the same room is too often the stuff of fiction.