At once austere and conceptually overwrought, The Nine Muses is both too much and not enough.
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What are critics saying?
The Nine Muses is the kind of nonfiction film I actively hope for: a picture of intuitive, free-associational power that cuts far deeper emotionally than a dry recitation of dates and facts could ever hope to.
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
The result is not without beauty, though at a certain point, one begins to notice that each new muse rather resembles the previous, a uniformity that restrains the film from true symphonic swell.
Akomfrah's steady, patient pace makes it fairly easy and ultimately fascinating to absorb his many heady references.
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Farber
Nine Muses is clearly the work of a talented filmmaker, and there are many moments to beguile the ears as well as the eyes. Yet it's a long slog through a few thousand years of myth and history, and most viewers are likely to grow impatient during the journey.