30
The victims of notorious Chilean torture camp Colonia Dignidad suffered more than enough without Colonia adding insult to injury.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
30
The leads are given the thankless task of maintaining grim poker faces through scene after scene of high contrivance and cliche-ridden dialogue.
50
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
Rushed and full of cinematic artifice, Gallenberger and Torsen Wenzel‘s script reveals itself to be devoid of the naturalism the leads are desperately trying to supply.
20
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
Colonia marks a truly misguided attempt to fabricate a Hollywood-style thriller out of the darkest quarters of Latin American history.
25
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
Working at cross-purposes, Colonia tries to have it both ways, wanting to be a shocking true story drama and a riveting piece of moviemaking. But it’s not intelligent enough to accumulate any emotional payoff, and it’s too generic and unsophisticated in its execution to work purely as popcorn entertainment.
63
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
Although genuinely gripping — at times, uncomfortably so — the tale of Lena and Daniel’s efforts to escape from Colonia and expose its abuses suffers from a heavy-handed telling.
50
Los Angeles Times by Michael Rechtshaffen
The end product is a standard-issue cult drama that nevertheless has its gripping moments thanks mainly to the presence of Emma Watson.
30
The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger
It somehow manages to feel more like a Hallmark Channel romance than like a serious film.
25
Nothing more than leftwing exploitation cinema, a cheap thriller dressed up in the guise of a social-justice exposé.
40
Arizona Republic by Randy Cordova
Unfortunately, what the filmmaker has wound up with is something that feels like it should be playing at the bottom end of a triple bill at a drive-in.