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Bright Leaves (2004)

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Reviews Counted:57

Fresh:49

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: A rich, eccentric documentary about both filmmaking and the tobacco industry.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Synopsis: Ross McElwee directs this autobiographical documentary about his family's roots in the tobacco business in North Carolina. Taking a sabbatical from his home in Boston, he offers a culturally... [More]

Director: Ross McElwee

Reviews for Bright Leaves

1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)

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Reviews
Tomatometer	Critic	Review	Category
N/R		Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Feb., 09 2006 03:16 AM	Time Out
4/5	Jamie Russell	The filmmaker's rich, husky-voiced narration manages to shape this collection of half-formed ideas and observations into a tightly packed little roll-up that's worth taking a puff on. Full Review \| Comment \| Oct., 06 2004 07:37 PM	BBC
	Louis Proyect	Classic McElwee blending together the personal and the political in his native North Carolina, to which he something of the same ambivalent relation that Faulkner, another son of the South, had to Mississippi. Full Review \| Comment \| May., 04 2009 10:43 AM	rec.arts.movies.reviews
3/4	Ron Reed	This is a highly personal journey, reminiscent of a smart, sardonic personal essay you might find in Harper's magazine or a quirky, savvy radio piece on NPR's 'This American Life.' Full Review \| Comment \| Sep., 08 2006 09:28 PM	Christianity Today
N/R	Jeffrey M. Anderson	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| May., 26 2006 03:16 AM	Combustible Celluloid
N/R	Rumsey Taylor	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Feb., 07 2006 03:15 AM	Not Coming to a Theater Near You
B+	Frank Swietek	Touches on serious matters with a sly, self-deprecating sense of humor that makes receiving its messages a pleasure rather than a chore. Full Review \| Comment \| May., 02 2005 08:50 AM	One Guy's Opinion
N/R		Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Apr., 30 2005 03:48 AM	Houston Chronicle
2.5/5	Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone	Ross McElwee ambles through one tobacco-related subject after another... it's too scattered all over the place to be truly informative. Full Review \| Comment \| Apr., 29 2005 07:20 AM	TheMovieChicks.com
B+	Manuel Mendoza	Bright Leaves is not the kind of film that thetruth.com would use in its anti-smoking campaign. Full Review \| Comment \| Apr., 28 2005 06:26 PM	Dallas Morning News
3.5/5	Ethan Alter	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Mar., 05 2005 10:38 PM	NYC Film Critic
	Sean Burns	A meandering riff on the dangerous allure of smoking, and more interestingly a meditation on the way motion pictures can preserve our life experiences-- but only to a point. Full Review \| Comment \| Mar., 05 2005 03:16 AM	Philadelphia Weekly
3/4	Carrie Rickey	A gently provocative film diary about tobacco and its mixed legacy. Full Review \| Comment \| Feb., 11 2005 05:34 PM	Philadelphia Inquirer
3/4	Phil Villarreal	The filmmaker narrates with droll, front-porch wit, and eases his way into the viewer's heart by sharing a hefty portion of his own. Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 26 2005 04:59 PM	Arizona Daily Star
3.5/4	Rob Blackwelder	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 24 2005 03:26 PM	SPLICEDWire
N/R		Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 10 2004 08:30 PM	St. Louis Post-Dispatch
3/4	Jonathan Rosenbaum	McElwee's best film since Sherman's March. Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 03 2004 08:52 PM	Chicago Reader
3/4	Michael Wilmington	Bright Leaves is a beguiling film. Watching it is like spending time with an old, somewhat chatty but endearing friend. Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 03 2004 08:52 PM	Chicago Tribune
	Marc Mohan	Twin concerns of family and place collide perfectly in McElwee's first film in seven years. Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 03 2004 02:01 PM	Oregonian
3/4	Roger Ebert	It's a meandering visit by a curious man with a quiet sense of humor. Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 03 2004 01:30 PM	Chicago Sun-Times

1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)

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Bright Leaves (2004)

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