A master working in movies that are clearly his own, Guzmán is still putting out the best films of his career.

| Dec 1, 2023

This is a rapturous, unsettling movie about beauty, mystery, and unimaginable horror.

| Mar 24, 2020

Through Guzmán's unique lens, the history of the natives becomes a kind of ethereal reflection of the universe, irrevocably changed by colonialism and western invasion.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 7, 2019

Far from conventional, this gorgeously soundtracked documentary is a treat for filmgoers willing to be engrossed by Malickian imagery...

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2019

An astoundingly beautiful visual essay which revels in the stunning scenery of Chilean Patagonia, it morphs into a harrowing depiction of the nation's distant and recent past.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 9, 2019

Guzmán's predilection for naïve wide-eyed wonder weighs down his recent films, never eclipses the most striking feature of his work: the way in which dreamy musings and far-fetched speculations coexist with toughness, prickliness, and matter-of-factness

| Nov 14, 2017

A fascinating journey through Chile's troubled past.

| May 10, 2017

The most recent documentary by Patricio Guzmán explores and faces the past and the presen of Chile, looking at the heavens and turning down, towards the earth. Or, in this case, to the sea. [Full review in Spanish]

| Mar 8, 2017

Chilean documentarian Patricio Guzmán delivers a stunning companion piece to his 2010 film Nostalgia For The Light, continuing his exploration of the effects of Augusto Pinochet's ruthless dictatorship.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 28, 2016

Time and again, Guzman generates profound meanings from simple concepts.

| Dec 28, 2016

This documentary holds every card in the pack, from geology to anthropology to the history of tribes and tyrants, and plays them like a master.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 28, 2016

A film where poetry is everything, with beautiful images and music. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 6, 2016

Guzmán's generous diagnosis of human failing makes for a truly moving and ingenious film even if it lacks the sharp focus or political edge of his best work.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 10, 2016

Fans of Terrence Malick and timeless images of nature and space should catch The Pearl Button, a leisurely but pointed meditation on human history.

| Apr 28, 2016

This haunting Chilean documentary is more poetry than journalism as filmmaker Patricio Guzman compares the fate of the indigenous people of Patagonia with that of the disappeared of the Pinochet regime.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 8, 2016

It's not a failure by any means, but given the power and elegance with which Guzmán usually makes his points, it does seem rather slight.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 6, 2016

A challenging film that addresses big issues with grace and humanity.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 20, 2016

As always, Guzmán unearths details that establish resonant connections between diverse worlds (the "pearl button" of the title proves typically allusive) but at a brief 82 minutes this feels like too many streams gathering in one overcrowded pool.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 20, 2016

The Pearl Button is a piece of visual poetry that meanders along the waterways, coastline and history of Chile, coming into sharp and horrifying focus on the atrocities of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 18, 2016

Patricio Guzmán's essay-style documentary is a deceptive but very moving affair.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 18, 2016