Critic Reviews

• Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

  It all makes for an enlightening and evocative snapshot.

• Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

  Freilich includes interviews with three generations of kibbutzniks and some fascinating historical footage going back to the 1920s.

• Ella Taylor, NPR

  Inventing Our Life hosts a conversation about a utopian dream as it encounters the realities of social change and human limitation.

• Alissa Simon, Variety

  Toby Perl Freilich's thought-provoking docu Inventing Our Life sketches the history of the radically socialist, more-than-100-year-old kibbutz movement.

• Daniel M. Gold, New York Times

  "Inventing Our Life" is a fascinating introduction to a movement scrambling to adjust enough to guarantee a future, without severing all ties to its principled past.

• Andrew Schenker, Village Voice

  Despite a few minor objections raised by some kibbutzniks, the film takes for granted the near unimpeachability of the original communities, giving only token mention of issues like gender inequality.

• Ethan Alter, Film Journal International

  An unimaginative but sturdy account of the Israeli kibbutz movement.

• Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

  An ethically rich and bold documentary on the 100 year old kibbutz movement in Israel.

• Kalvin Henely, Slant Magazine

  While very informative, it doesn't work as an introduction to kibbutzim because it requires the viewer to have some prior knowledge of the history of Israel.

• Kam Williams, AALBC.com

  A valuable history lesson about an idealistic blueprint for nirvana ultimately frustrated by something as simple as basic human nature.

• Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve

  An evenly balanced doc about Israel's noble, socialist experiment: the kibbutz

Read all 11 critic reviews