90
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Beautiful in its minimalism, Nénette is no antizoo rant but a melancholy meditation on captivity.
Nénette
Critic Rating
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A touching documentary about Nénette, an orangutan, and her life inside a Parisian zoo, where she has been caged for 38 of her 40 years. Mother of four and widow of three, Nénette’s life behind bars is carefully and intimately recorded by director Nicolas Philibert.
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What are critics saying?
88
Boston Globe by Wesley Morris
The movie isn't a critique of zoo life. But it's possible we have on our hands, in Nénette's captivity, a microcosm of celebrity star-gazing.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Hartlaub
The best part about the movie is the way it shifts focus, starting as an observation of the animal and then subtly morphing to the point of view of Nénette, who passively experiences a jumble of voices that start to run together.
75
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
The best kid-friendly movie of the holiday season is Nénette, a portrait of an orangutan.
75
St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams
Paul Simon and a Parisian orangutan tell us the same thing: It's all happening at the zoo.
75
Washington Post by Stephanie Merry
The animal's striking resemblance to a human is part of what makes Nicolas Philibert's documentary Nenette so evocative.
60
Boxoffice Magazine by Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
It's a wonderfully moving meditation on the capacity of animals to inspire our imaginations and something applicable to educational markets as well as regular documentary audiences.
60
Empire by David Parkinson
A gently moving film that's always thought-provoking if at times a little slow going.
60
Time Out by Nicolas Rapold
Like most primates, Nénette is both fascinatingly familiar and strange, capable of almost human expressions yet totally unknowable (as well as massive and hairy).
58
The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias
As with all of Philibert's work, Nénette is impeccably composed and admirably disciplined, but his patient observation can't unlock the mysteries of an animal that's grown more introspective and likely less expressive over time.
50
Village Voice by Melissa Anderson
Watching Nénette watch those who gape at her is an intriguing, multi-layered exercise of voyeurism, but one that wanes after our gaze is demanded for too long.
40
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
Our time spent with Nenette feel as stifling and airless as hers.
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