60
Much of the value of Manos Sucias is in its authenticity.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
It's not news, of course, that it's a terrible thing to extinguish a life, but it's a relief, when the shoot-'em-ups of Summer Movie Season are bearing down on us, to see a film that regards killing with pained awe. Wladyka's hands are clean.
50
Although it sports a few fresh moments, the tonally all-over-the-place drama is hampered by script and assembly problems.
63
Slant Magazine by Clayton Dillard
Josef Kubota Wladyka is ultimately unable to reconcile complex dynamics any further than with a glimpse toward their fundamentally destructive effects.
70
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
The light is menacing, the mood watchful and the action scenes have a crude, desperate energy that gets the job done. Here, violence is neither weightless nor glorified, but just another obstacle on the way to a better future.
75
The Playlist by Nikola Grozdanovic
Though Manos Sucias, like the compelling local songs used to supplement the melancholic mood, often feels like fragments of a picture glued together by a temporary adhesive, the experience will leave you believing that you've just witnessed something very real and, even with its all-too-short running time, still manages to pack quite a punch.
60
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Though the plot turns aren't necessarily surprising and characterizations a bit facile, Wladyka manages tense moments.
80
The Dissolve by Tasha Robinson
The beginning of the film is purposefully surprising in many little ways, but the rest of the film is a gorgeously shot, heart-in-throat wait to see whether the payoff can dodge expectations nearly as well. The journey is more important than the destination, but Wladyka makes enough daring choices to make both worthwhile.