74
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanEvery moment feels human and true, from the naive optimism of the trip's sendoff to its unsparingly realistic conclusion, which trades reckless hope for quiet honor.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe most powerful thing about The Pirogue is the way it deals with emotionally charged events matter-of-factly, rather than melodramatically. The story Mr. Touré has chosen to tell is both painfully specific - about these individuals, in this boat - and immeasurably vast, since the experience it depicts is shared by millions of people around the world. And yet somehow he gets the scale just right.
- 75New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeIn the poignant, symmetrical end, Touré leaves the idea that the real yearning of these people is for a fair shake in their own home.
- This universal story could easily serve as a dramatically gripping primer on topical immigration issues to schoolchildren across the globe, from Arizona to Afghanistan.  
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceFor all the tense interpersonal conflicts and the inevitable, if thrilling, stormy-seas set piece, what proves most striking are the exactly rendered little moments.
- 70NPRMark JenkinsNPRMark JenkinsThe Pirogue spends only about an hour on open water, but that's enough to convey the risks that make the trip foolish, and the desperation that makes it inevitable.
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichThere's enough filmmaking talent evident throughout that you wish the journey were more satisfying overall.
- 38Slant MagazineCalum MarshSlant MagazineCalum MarshMoussa Touré's worldview, like Ousmane Sembene's, is characterized by the feeling that, at the end of the day, some degree of loss or defeat is inevitable.