Click to read the article
Comment
04/23/09
Protagonist (2007)
84
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:27
Rotten:5
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Protagonist skillfully intertwines its subjects' lives through an unexpected common thread -- Euripedes.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Filmmaker Jessica Yu explores human obsession and extremism in this riveting and provocative documentary. Yu interviews four men with seemingly disparate backgrounds, and then mirrors their... [More]
Director: Jessica Yu
Reviews for Protagonist
Click to read the article
10/18/08
Many will be moved by Protagonist and its reminders that we are all struggling to find versions of ourselves to live up to.
10/18/08
[Jessica Yu] combines the interviews with such skill that themes begin to emerge, a tangled thicket of men seeking to define themselves through strength, discipline and self-transformation.
06/09/08
Truly artistic documentary about 4 men who led life at the edge and came back from the brink.
04/22/08
Click to read the article
01/14/08
fascinating, troubling, and scathingly brilliant in both concept and execution
01/11/08
... far more thought-provoking and engrossing than the usual run of flatly journalistic docs.
12/21/07
At first, the technique seems gimmicky, but finally it's as compelling a perspective as any to understand how these men passed through agony to some sort of peace.
12/14/07
Yu's film may be challenging to synopsize, but it's thoroughly engrossing and wildly surprising.
12/14/07
Top CriticPerhaps Yu's greatest achievement was finding four individuals with equal passion about and insight into their own journeys, and thereby demonstrating that all lives are fascinating when properly examined.
12/14/07
Stepped up in edginess from the Errol Morris template, Yu's Greek tragedy of modern extremists weaves four disturbing stories into a cautionary tale in step with the times
12/07/07
It's a particularly elegantly made film, with sharp lensing by cinematographers Russell Harper and Karl Hahn.
12/04/07
Suffers for the same reasons that a lot of 'issue' documentaries are problematic -- it is way too heavy-handed, only in style and concept rather than preachiness.
11/30/07
None of the talking heads is as interesting as [director] Yu thinks they are; and it's difficult to build sympathy for any of them.
11/30/07
While [director] Yu's experimental approach brings valuable insight to the human condition, the interviews themselves too rarely measure up to her ambitious structure.
11/30/07
...an audacious and remarkably assured documentary that weaves together four seemingly unrelated portraits of four contemporary men whose very different lives follow the course of Euripidean drama.
11/30/07
Protagonist is an enthralling documentary exploration of people with obsessive needs for control and self-mastery.
11/30/07
Top CriticProves so savvy at connecting the hidden dots between eclectic subjects that even the puppets seem human.
11/29/07
The film bears the mark of a real directorial talent, eager to push the documentary form in inventive directions, just like Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, and for that alone, it deserves a nod of appreciation.
11/29/07
Latest News for Protagonist
November 29, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Awake Not Screened For Critics
This week at the movies we have a grand total of one new wide release: Awake, starring Jessica Alba and Hayden Christensen. What do the critics have to say? More...
October 06, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
May 04, 2007:
SFIFF Report: Red Carpet, Parker Posey, Capsule Reviews!
It's been half a century since the San Francisco International Film Festival began (making it the longest-running domestic fest of its kind) and its lineup reflects that history... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds