Jesús investigates the darkest side of adolescence, raising a number of moral questions without providing easy answers. The top-notch cast is the icing on the cake, with Goic stoically embodying Chile’s hopes and failures while young Durán mesmerizes with his stunning androgyny.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
The tense final act...investigates its moral quandaries with a rigor this kind of bad-seed street-teen movie usually can’t manage.
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
Often shown in dark, flat and agitated closeups, Goic and Duran are both compelling performers.
Fernando Guzzoni's Jesus is at its best when it steers clear of pat moralizing and simply yokes its moody sense of atmosphere to the aimlessness of the story’s young characters.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
One feels the filmmaker trying hard to work out the inner struggles of his sad but largely unsympathetic characters. But his movie is as miserable and ultimately confounding as it is earnest.
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
Jesús proves a gripping cautionary tale unafraid to let its characters suffer for justice. A son’s mistake becomes a father’s failure and no matter what happens, no one’s soul is left whole.
Screen International by Jonathan Romney
The film imaginatively uses a presumably tight budget to claustrophobic advantage.
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Guzzoni’s movie is an unsparing portrait of aimlessness told mostly in the queasiest shades.