85
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleStarless Dreams is a fascinating and humane view of the marginalised and forgotten. The girls' voices rise as a startlingly powerful chorus, questioning, challenging and demanding we listen.
- 100[A] brilliant documentary.
- 91The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayWhat distinguishes Starless Dreams is Oskouei’s voice, heard from off screen, getting these girls to be honest about where they’ve come from and why they’re less than anxious to return.
- 90VarietyScott TobiasVarietyScott TobiasWith the conceptual rigor and emotional directness associated with the best of Iranian cinema, Oskouei simply listens to the stories of those who have never been listened to before. Their shattering testimony, elegantly harmonized in a chorus of stolen childhood, has universal appeal.
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlThe world needs to see this spare, revelatory film and hear these girls' pained and sometimes proud confessions.
- 80Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonTime Out LondonTom HuddlestonThese young women have already witnessed enough horror to last a lifetime, and in this unforgiving society their lot seems unlikely to improve. A grim but necessary watch.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungStarless Dreams (Royahaye Dame Sobh), shot in a juvenile correctional facility for girls under the age of 18, is the perfect example of how powerful simplicity can be, when it’s underpinned by compassion for its subject.
- 75Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardMehrdad Oskouei avoids sentimentalizing the girls or tritely lamenting their stolen innocence.
- 70The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergIf Starless Dreams inspires conflicted feelings in viewers, it may be by design. It’s hard not to want to flee, and it’s hard to look away.