100
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
Vranik’s film couldn’t be more timely in its moral inquiry, but it’s timeless in form and technique, a melodrama tempered with a painstaking realism.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
Film Journal International by Chris Barsanti
Deliberately paced but shot with a quiet magnetism and close-in immediacy,The Citizen benefits in comparison to other immigrant dramas because even though this is a story suffused with empathy, it doesn’t center on either a good deed being done by a white Westerner for a helpless dark-skinned foreigner or that foreigner’s two-dimensional pluck.
63
Slant Magazine by Clayton Dillard
It adheres too rigidly to news-cycle replications of barbaric governmental acts, and without putting them into greater perspective.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
Beautifully acted by its ensemble of mostly non-professional actors, The Citizen puts a very human face on a topic that has inflamed much of the Western world.
70
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
An involving, stacked deck of a story plus strong acting and a mix of vital themes combine to make The Citizen a solid drama about immigration, nationalism and survival in an often unforgiving world.
90
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
The film, directed by Roland Vranik from a script by Mr. Vranik and Ivan Szabo, is a careful, compassionate and beautifully acted character drama with a social conscience.