Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

It's a strange, one-of-a-kind film that was to be Benacarraf's only full-length feature.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

This astonishing documentary, so beautiful, so horrifying.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

The 1959 film's style is dated, but it is visually glorious and tells a fascinating story.

Time Out by David Fear

The movie’s b&w images of craggy landscapes and shirtless young men have never looked more vibrant.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

As a piece of documentary filmmaking though, Araya is more noteworthy for what it reveals about a changing artform than for what it has to say about its subjects.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

I'm not sure why it took 50 years for Araya to reach New York, but let us be thankful to Milestone Films for giving life to this forgotten film.

Village Voice

Another stunningly photographed document of a singular culture.

Chicago Reader by Andrea Gronvall

This meticulous restoration dazzles with crisp, formally rigorous black-and-white images and a complex sound mix, as its minimalist story of three families of manual laborers unfolds against a harsh, barren peninsula.

Village Voice by Andrew Schenker

Another stunningly photographed document of a singular culture.

Boston Globe by Wesley Morris

While it insists that everyday lives in Araya are full of drudgery and toil, the film fails to produce a single ugly image.

The New York Times

Whatever visual poetry the film possesses is overwhelmed by the thuddingly bad and nearly ceaseless narration, written by Ms. Benacerraf and Pierre Seghers.

The New York Times by Mike Hale

Whatever visual poetry the film possesses is overwhelmed by the thuddingly bad and nearly ceaseless narration, written by Ms. Benacerraf and Pierre Seghers.