In the end, Boys State becomes an indictment of the whole American election process.

| Jul 16, 2024

It's one of the most brilliantly entertaining films of the year, and you'll find yourself ridiculously invested in its central gubernatorial campaign.

| Jun 13, 2024

A terrifying and nihilistic portrait of the lengths that boys will go to assume power and the dangers it portends for American politics.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 30, 2024

You can see our future as both hopeful and alarming, leading this to really be the scariest movie of the year, and I don’t know if that should be seen as a compliment...

| Apr 4, 2024

An extremely well edited piece of non-fiction storytelling... We might be losing faith in politics but thanks to Boys State, the state of the union between politics and film is as strong as ever.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 12, 2022

It’s a fascinating experiment to behold, with truly unpredictable consequences.

| Sep 19, 2022

For me the most disheartening thing about “Boys State” is that most of what we see mirrors our existing political climate rather than give hope that change will come with the next generation.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2022

Its perspective is keenly intimate, yet at the same time, provides a commentary about the vast intricacies of the political landscape that reaches into areas with far dire consequences.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 5, 2022

Humanity is addicted to competition, at its core this is what makes Boys State entertaining. But its true power relies on the critical analysis of these young boys' minds. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 22, 2021

A fascinating look at the leaders of tomorrow -- for better or for worse.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 10, 2021

Boys State is capable of enraging, elating and entertaining all at once.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 17, 2021

Boys State is an exceptional documentary that captures something so absorbing and sublime that it feels like all of it is staged.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 25, 2021

A documentary that can be devastating for some and inconsequential for others. [Full review in Spanish]

| Mar 30, 2021

Boys State may have you alternately having hope or despair for the future of American politics, but the film is a master class in characterization. No matter where their lives take them, many of these boys seem to have what it takes to be leaders.

| Feb 5, 2021

It simply presents its material as straightforwardly as it can and lets us decide what to do with it.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 28, 2021

Their casting is remarkable, editing energizing, and conclusions authentically scary.

| Jan 27, 2021

Jesse Moss makes finely observed, patient documentaries about self-deluded American conmen and dreamers. Naturally this leads him into politics.

| Jan 9, 2021

A thoroughly depressing portrait of American teen masculinity, Texas politics, and the overall state of democracy...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 29, 2020

There's a lot to be hopeful for in what they've included throughout Boys State even if the result makes the whole a two-steps forward, one-step back situation.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 17, 2020

The idea behind the program is to instruct these kids in the vagaries of politics, and the film in turn explores politics as practiced in the US today - so this is both a comedy and a horror movie.

| Nov 17, 2020