71
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleAlthough it would take much more than a 95 minute documentary for true enlightenment, Letters to Baghdad also helps us understand the complex political situation stemming from the gradual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
- 80The GuardianLeslie FelperinThe GuardianLeslie FelperinIt does serve as a handy summary for those who want a cinematic introduction to Bell’s sprawling, singular story.
- 80Total FilmNeil SmithTotal FilmNeil SmithSabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum’s elegant mix of voiceover, archive footage and talking heads lets “the female Lawrence of Arabia” largely speak for herself, illuminating the pivotal role she played in shaping today’s Middle East.
- The film elegantly unfolds as if someone had peeked inside a steerage trunk and thumbed through the brittle pages of scrapbooks showing sailboats on the Euphrates and hieroglyphics in the moonlight.
- 75Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayIt provides a sturdy, often exhilarating bridge between the present and a past that not only isn’t distant, but isn’t even really past.
- 70VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergThe bottom line is that Oelbaum and Krayenbühl have fleshed out a complex, fascinating figure.
- 60Time Out LondonCath ClarkeTime Out LondonCath ClarkeThe film also touches on Bell’s work for the British government, drawing up the boundaries of Iraq after WWI – which was to have consequences still felt today.
- 60Village VoiceDaphne HowlandVillage VoiceDaphne HowlandUnfortunately, the doc is devoid of any real context, including how work such as Bell’s helped lead to the quagmire that has unsettled the region for decades.
- 60The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThere’s much historical material here that’s of high interest, and Ms. Swinton’s performance of Bell’s letters convey Bell’s skills as a writer, but the movie is ultimately too conceptually labored for its own good — or that of its subject.
- It’s a disorganized onslaught of primary source material that doesn’t so much shed light as it does simply exist.