Time Out London by Dave Calhoun

The Lovers and the Despot is compelling as a Cold War-era thriller, but it also offers a small window on life in the higher echelons of power in North Korea at that time.

The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

Fascinating on personal, political and cinematic levels, the film resourcefully plumbs all sorts of resources, including secret tape recordings of Kim himself, but also omits certain aspects of the tale that would merely have added to its intrigue.

Variety by Justin Chang

While a more thorough archival survey of Choi and Shin’s work together (pre- and post-abduction) would have allowed for a deeper perspective, this real-life romantic thriller/escape saga still boasts enough fascinating details and angles to qualify as essential stranger-than-fiction viewing.

TheWrap by Dave White

Cannan and Adam approach the outlandish crime as a puzzlement, all but wondering aloud how two celebrities could be stolen from public life and turned into a dictator’s puppets.

Consequence by Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

As both an utterly mad true story and as a document of the boundless reach of the cinema across borders and cultures and even ideologies, The Lovers and the Despot is wild, valuable viewing for all.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

A tale worthy of a hundred Cold War thrillers.

Consequence of Sound by Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

As both an utterly mad true story and as a document of the boundless reach of the cinema across borders and cultures and even ideologies, The Lovers and the Despot is wild, valuable viewing for all.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Brad Wheeler

It’s a fantastically bonkers story told excitedly in The Lovers and the Despot, a stranger-than-fiction yarn that would make a hell of an opera.

Washington Post by Pat Padua

“Lovers” suggests that any film — even this one — can have the manipulative power of propaganda.

Screen Daily by David D'Arcy

The visual textures of The Lovers and the Despot, edited by Jim Hession — and the Kim audio tapes — make for vibrant cinema.

Screen International by David D'Arcy

The visual textures of The Lovers and the Despot, edited by Jim Hession — and the Kim audio tapes — make for vibrant cinema.

Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl

The film is brisk and fascinating, ultimately moving, but also less rich than it might have been.

The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton

The tale of Choi and Shin is a true stranger-than-fiction one, as good a piece of material as a filmmaker could help for. It’s just a shame that, for the most part, The Lovers And The Despot feels like it’s giving you the Cliff Notes version of the story.

Slant Magazine by Ed Gonzalez

The haphazard blending of fact and clips from disparate films unrelated to Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee's ordeal confuses an already intricate tale.

The Film Stage by Daniel Schindel

The most frustrating aspect of The Lovers and the Despot is its refusal to do more than simply recite its tale, ignoring the interesting concepts lurking within it.

The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman

It’s one hell of a yarn, which makes The Lovers and the Despot’s strangely soporific style something of a disappointment.