80
Village Voice
That Ahadi and his team were able to safely compile, let alone edit together, this much ground-level footage is a feat in and of itself; that it comes together in such a compelling manner makes it almost vital.
The Green Wave
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Germany
- 2010
- · 80m
Director
Ali Samadi Ahadi
Cast
Mohsen Kadivar,
Mitra Khalatbari,
Shadi Sadr,
Mehdi Mohseni,
Payam Akhavan,
Babak
Genre
Animation,
Documentary
Inspired by the 2009 presidential election that produced dubious results that were highly indicative of fraud, an Iranian protest movement for democratic reforms was born under the name of the Green Revolution. Employing a distinctive animation style, archival footage, and social media accounts, director Ali Samadi Ahadi illustrates the protesters' fight for a better future.
Stream The Green Wave
What are critics saying?
80
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
The most compelling aspect of The Green Wave, however, is the extensive footage shot clandestinely by amateurs using cellphones. What they recorded shows us the reality of what went down in a way nothing else can match.
80
Total Film by Tom Dawson
Heartfelt and inventive, this documentary from exiled director Ali Samadi Ahadi chronicles Iran's abortive Green Revolution during the summer of 2009.
80
The Guardian by Henry Barnes
Ahadu pulls the curtain back on a government that was willing to imprison and torture its electorate.
80
Village Voice by Michael Nordine
That Ahadi and his team were able to safely compile, let alone edit together, this much ground-level footage is a feat in and of itself; that it comes together in such a compelling manner makes it almost vital.
70
The New York Times by Rachel Saltz
By turns frustrating and moving, Ali Samadi Ahadi's documentary The Green Wave, about the Green Revolution in Iran, gets a jolt from footage shot by the people for the people on the people's cellphones.
60
Time Out
Only the animation seems forced, with its comic-book style and melodramatic tone registering as manipulative next to the brute reality of the documentary images.
60
Empire
A worthy topic that deserves a slightly better documentary.
60
Time Out by R. Emmet Sweeney
Only the animation seems forced, with its comic-book style and melodramatic tone registering as manipulative next to the brute reality of the documentary images.
60
Empire by Staff (Not Credited)
A worthy topic that deserves a slightly better documentary.
50
Variety by Leslie Felperin
Mixed-media approach is eye-catching, and the subject is unquestionably powerful, but the sentimental score and stridently drawn imagery detract from picture's impact.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
An arresting visual style cannot make up for lack of new information or viewpoints about the Green Revolution in 2009 Iran.
50
Slant Magazine
Unlike Waltz with Bashir, it only seems to be using animation in an effort to make blog diaries by twentysomethings appear cinematic.
50
Slant Magazine by Lauren Wissot
Unlike Waltz with Bashir, it only seems to be using animation in an effort to make blog diaries by twentysomethings appear cinematic.
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