50
The scenes of death, starvation, and destruction are affecting, but they don't say much about the actual subject of the film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
90
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Documenting war is a small, partial but indispensable step toward its eventual eradication. Mr. Frei's quiet, engrossing film is a sad and stirring testimony to this vision and to the quiet, self-effacing heroism with which Mr. Nachtwey has pursued it.
100
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Indelible images and brilliant use of unconventional music make this a nonfiction film that must be seen – and heard – to be believed.
100
San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann
Extraordinary.
75
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
Nachtwey's pictures tell a tale of grief and suffering, and Frei's you-are-there approach gives those photos startling immediacy.
70
Village Voice by Jessica Winter
The photographer's show-don't-tell stance is admirable, but it can make him a problematic documentary subject. War Photographer infers the psychological and physical toll of his peripatetic existence, but provides scant insight into his technique.
80
Frei assembles a fascinating profile of a deeply humanistic artist who, in spite of all that he's witnessed, remains surprisingly idealistic, and retains an extraordinary faith in the ability of images to communicate the truth of the world around him.
75
A misleadingly bland title for a gripping documentary.
75
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Finally, the film answers a question that obviously haunts Nachtwey: Is it immoral, callous or irresponsible to win fame and recognition from images of the terror, death and suffering of others?
90
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer
What's remarkable is how often the photographer's subjects allow themselves to be caught on film; it's as if they understood implicitly that Nachtwey was there not only to agitate for reform but to memorialize their agony. He does both.