Evocatively photographed by Erick K Yue and scored with Quincy Jones-esque style by Gary Gunn, this wrenching study of domestic struggle in a prejudicial society is sometimes tough to take, but hits home hard.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 4, 2025

There is something delicately novelistic in the way A Thousand and One tackles its themes of family and gentrification, helped by a range of nuanced performances (especially from Teyana Taylor).

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 25, 2024

"And while strides may have been made to put more space between their fucked up beginning and the bright future ahead for Terry—the truth that’s been stewing and haunting their home built on lies is bound to bubble over to the surface."

| Jun 19, 2024

Every performance in the film feels just right, making this film's time-jumping narrative seem authentic at every turn. And the main event ... is the performance of Teyana Taylor as Inez.

| Original Score: B | Jun 6, 2024

A Thousand and One is often a quiet film, even in its scenes of strife and devastation of both the emotional and financial varieties.

| May 30, 2024

Teyana Taylor is magnetic as a young mother trying to do what is best for herself and her son against the tide of an increasingly gentrified New York City, many broken systems, and little support.

| Apr 19, 2024

...through Taylor’s excellent screen work, it functions so potently as a portrait of the real people left by the wayside by institutions designed to catch them when they fall.

| Feb 13, 2024

A Thousand and One never ceases to engange and, at times, even move. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 30, 2024

A Thousand One stands out for its sophisticated direction and imaginative visual representation that captures the beauty and vitality of the city, as well as the specific economic struggles of lower-middle-class African Americans. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 29, 2024

Terry and his friends are frequently harassed by police under Mayor Rudy Guiliani's 'stop-and-frisk' policies. Against all these social currents, Inez struggles heroically. Even when it looks like she's defeated, her love for Terry and Lucky triumphs.

| Original Score: B | Jan 27, 2024

Rockwell's direction achieves a perfect sense of intimacy in its portrayal of this complicated and even extreme situation, and avoids falling into too many melodramatic tendencies to explore an evolving relationship... [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 5, 2024

Several knife-turning twists will rattle you whole before the end, but there’s no gimmick. The pain is real. A Thousand and One is an astoundingly accomplished debut film that stays with you long after the curtain falls.

| Dec 29, 2023

First-time feature writer/director A.V. Rockwell deftly navigates the epic narrative, including a finale that somehow both breaks your heart and sends your spirit soaring.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 21, 2023

It helps that Rockwell found actors who were able to give the material the authenticity it demands by portraying imperfect souls struggling to be better even as they find themselves failing again and again.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Nov 22, 2023

A very dynamic family portrait in which the characters are molded by their own decisions as well as external forces. [Full review in Spanish]

| Oct 5, 2023

A Thousand and One is one of the most absorbing and immersive dramas of the year.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2023

Rockwell maintains simmering tension beneath a rock-solid character-driven story...

| Sep 20, 2023

Taylor is the secret weapon here. She's gorgeous and ferocious and never hits a false note.

| Original Score: 3.4/5 | Sep 16, 2023

Overall, A Thousand and One is a solid film, with a good script, particularly from a dialogue standpoint. The characters don’t often overdo their lines and the team brings fresh approaches to common situations.

| Sep 7, 2023

The best revenge is living well, and Inez, a criminal mastermind, rejects the laws of this world and their condemnation to navigate life on her own terms.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 16, 2023