Sabbath Queen: reviews

What the critics say average 8.2 from 6 outlets

• 10 The Hollywood ReporterRobyn Bahr Ultimately, Sabbath Queen isn’t interested in the headline-grabbing macro conflicts that embroil Jews globally, but the internal culture wars within Judaism itself: fascistic fundamentalism versus reformist progressivism; dominant cishet masculinity versus burgeoning feminine and gender nonconforming voices; hallowed bloodlines versus chosen family. It is one of the best films I’ve seen this year. Read
• 9.0 New York TimesElisabeth Vincentelli [A] fascinating look at the act of questioning yourself and your family, your surroundings and your decisions. Read
• 9.0 Film ThreatChristophe Bilien Sabbath Queen constantly finds ways to renew our interest throughout its 105 minutes and does so with great intelligence and respect. Read
• 7.5 IndiewireRyan Lattanzio DuBowski’s activist portrait “Sabbath Queen” is overwhelmingly ambitious in its time-spanning, as searching and curious as its primary subject. We don’t leave the movie with a firm sense of who Amichai is beyond his religious backdrop, but I think that’s the point: Who he is as a person has become muddled and tangled up with the one he’s supposed to represent. Read
• 7.0 VarietyDennis Harvey This fast-paced, well-shot doc does place its finger on the quickening pulse of an ever-wider gap between liberalizing Western social values and the Orthodox sphere that believes they are antithetical to Judaism. It’s a painful divide, but one that “Sabbath Queen” helps keep at least partly in the realm of civil argument. Read
• 6.7 The PlaylistBrian Farvour There’s too much good here that doesn’t deserve to be overlooked, and this is where the film misses the mark. Read