64
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Paste MagazineToussaint EganPaste MagazineToussaint EganNever-Ending Man is an impressive documentary.
- 75Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonKaku Arakawa's documentary is a candid snapshot of a great artist as an old man.
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThis unpolished film only runs for 70 minutes, but its reluctant subject — who repeatedly asks Arakawa why any of this is worth capturing on camera — unlooses enough despair to fill the pages of an epic Russian novel.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranStarting as a dirge and ending as an ode to joy, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki provides a privileged glimpse into the creative processes of one of the greatest animators who ever lived.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovViewers unfamiliar with Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s extraordinary output over the years may find Never-Ending Man an exercise in tedium – the creation of an animated film, even a short one, is a famously slow and exceedingly precise process – but for those who, like me, adore his life’s work, it’s a precious and fascinating glimpse into the inner life of the world’s greatest living animator.
- 60The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyIt’s never boring but a trifle diffuse. If you’re a Miyazaki fan, you’ll want to see it anyway.
- 60VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeHad Arakawa widened the portrait just a bit to include other voices — whether artistic collaborators or the young audiences still just discovering his work — the film would easily have demonstrated how his legacy will live forever. Then again, it’s assumed that anyone watching “Never-Ending Man” knows that already.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThough fans will enjoy the behind-the-scenes view, and anyone interested in creativity can appreciate watching a master attempt to expand his turf so late in life, the doc's narrow scope and aesthetic limitations make it a fans-only affair, certainly not a full-bodied account of this man's towering career.