How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (2012)

55% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(587 ratings)

A portrait of one of the world's premier architects, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? follows Norman Foster's unending quest to improve the quality of life through design. By investigating his origins to how his dreams and influences inspired the design of emblematic projects such as… More A portrait of one of the world's premier architects, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? follows Norman Foster's unending quest to improve the quality of life through design. By investigating his origins to how his dreams and influences inspired the design of emblematic projects such as the world's largest building to its tallest bridge, Foster offers some striking solutions to humanity's increasing demand on urban centers. -- (C) First Run

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Carlos Carcas, Norberto Lopez Amado
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jan 25, 2012 Limited
Studio: First Run Features

Critic Reviews

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
An architecture lover's dream.
Mark Jenkins, NPR
Whether contemplating his own sensibility or challenging himself in cross-country ski marathons, the 76-year-old architect appears here as a man who stands heavy upon the planet.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
A film that at times seems ready to levitate from the screen on puffy clouds of praise.
Brian Miller, Village Voice
It's essentially an infomercial for the company he unsuccessfully tried to sell before the 2008 crash.
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
A treatment of Foster so reverential it verges on camp.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A mildly engaging introduction to the architectural work of Norman Foster, but it barely scratches the surface.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
Audiences who embrace high-quality, smartly produced documentaries about compelling and worthy subjects will get their money's worth.
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com
a roughly eighty-minute pep rally for its subject
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
From inspiring bio. . .travels around the world for stunning views of his buildings and structures until collapsing into a promotional video for his global firm.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
A better movie would have explored Foster's way-of-the-future objectives with more beyond-the-hype insight...
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
Unusually successful in synchronizing the ethos and oeuvre of its protagonist with its own visual strategies and rhythms.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
An informative and inspiring documentary about a man's life and work.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Renowned architect Norman Foster has created some of the world's most iconic buildings, and this documentary explores the ideas that link them. Although it only barely scratches the surface of his talent and skill.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
There are no dissenting voices to be heard in Norberto López Amado and Carlos Carcas' movie, but then it's easy to admire Foster...
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
Foster is an eloquent speaker with a touch of Lancashire in his voice, a likable man, who uses a sketch pad as a way of thinking, and we get to see stunningly photographed images of his work...
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Although its uncritical tone makes it look occasionally like a promotional video, it's clear that there is a lot to hero-worship.
Prudence Ivey, Little White Lies
Like reading a glossy fashion magazine, lovely to look at but utterly unmemorable.
Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph
A film that reaffirms rather than probes its subject's brilliance.
David Parkinson, Radio Times
Foster is a fascinating subject, but his achievement should be scrutinised much more rigorously than this.
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
Veers too close to hagiography, although it's visually arresting enough to carry you through sagging in the narrative.